Locomotive Engineer Tried to Derail Train to Wreck Hospital Ship Over Coronavirus Suspicions: Feds
By Andrew Blankstein • Published April 1, 2020

Prosecutors charged a locomotive engineer who worked at the Port of Los Angeles with intentionally derailing a train at full speed near the US Navy Hospital Ship Mercy because of suspicions over it and activities surrounding COVID-19, according to a federal criminal complaint.

Eduardo Moreno, 44, of San Pedro was charged with one count under a little known federal statute of train wrecking, which carries a maximum sentence of up to 20 years in the incident which took place Tuesday, according to the 10-page criminal complaint unsealed Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles.

After he was arrested, Moreno was held overnight and subsequently turned over to FBI agents Wednesday morning. Prosecutors allege Moreno ran the train off the end of tracks, and crashed through a series of barriers before coming to rest more than 250 yards from the Mercy in an incident captured on video.