SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- California regulators have issued a temporary ordering banning train operators from using cell phones while on duty.
The California Public Utilities Commission unanimously passed an emergency order Thursday to ban the use of cell phones and other personal electronic devices while operating a train. It comes less than a week after a Southern California commuter train ran head-on into a freight train, killing 25 people and injuring more than 130 others.
Federal authorities confirmed that on the day of the crash, the Metrolink train engineer was text-messaging on his cell phone while on duty. Authorities say he ran a red light and slammed into the freight train in Chatsworth on Friday.
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