Man sues city of Redlands, Metrolink for deadly crash that killed his wife, daughter
A deadly crash involving a Metrolink train in Redlands last April has turned into a lawsuit, as the family of the mother and daughter who were killed say that the commuter rail service was designed at a crossing that is inherently dangerous.
It's been nearly a year since the crash on April 4, 2023 near the Metrolink Arrow Line crossing at Alabama Street, that left Heather Woolard and her 11-year-old daughter Presley Chiakowsky dead.
Still, the community feels the impact of the loss.
"You can't help but feel loss," said Dan Arrow, a Redlands resident. "You think your head, 'How would that be for me?' How would I live afterward if one of my daughters was killed like that?"
The family says that Metrolink and Redlands created dangerous conditions at the crossing, which was started just six months before the fatal incident.
Scott Saunders, the attorney representing the Chiakowsky family, says that they're looking to several potential safety issues, including the timing of how the preemptive warning signals and traffic lights at the crossing are synchronized. Another issue is the close proximity of the gas station driveway to the limit line painted on the road.
"The lawsuit we filed, it's about public safety and doing what we can to prevent this type of tragedy from happening again," Saunders said.
On top of the issues, he says that they're learned a deputy chief at Redlands Police Department had reported a potential public safety concern at the crossing to city officials after the collision, even filing a claim about it.
The claim comes after the initial accident report indicated that Heather had backed up at a red light after driving over the limit line, but for unknown reasons, drove forward after the crossing arm came down on top of her car.
In December, Metrolink made an adjustment to the preemptive warning lights at both the Alabama Street and Eureka Street crossings. The change was made after it was reportedly discovered that the system was not working as intended during testing.
Metrolink says that they cannot comment on pending litigation.
KCAL News requested comment from the city of Redlands but has not yet heard back.
