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News of another deadly Metrolink commuter train crash splashes across the front pages: “Head-on Collision.” “Twenty-five Dead.” “Bodies Still Trapped in Wreckage.”

But it is just the latest chapter in train catastrophes. And Bruce Gray knows it only too well.

The life of Bruce Gray, engineer of Metrolink 100, changed irrevocably on January 26, 2005, at 6:03 am, when Juan Manuel Alvarez left his gas-soaked Jeep Grand Cherokee on a train track in Glendale, California, in an apparent suicide attempt.

Alvarez had a change of heart as the Metrolink barreled towards him at 79 mph. And he ran off, leaving his car straddling the tracks. Moments later, when the Metrolink slammed into the Jeep, it set off a chain reaction that destroyed three trains, injured nearly 200, and killed eleven.

As an agent interested in representing narrative non-fiction, you might be interested in the book Coffin Car: The Crash of Metrolink 100. It is the story of the Glendale train crash and the personal journey of not only Engineer Bruce Gray as he learns to cope with the aftermath of the accident, but also of other key people involved in the incident, such as Juan Manuel Alvarez, the man bent on committing suicide but surviving and killing eleven others, Karen Hernandez, the Costco employee who called 911; Curt Williamson, the first fireman on the scene; Scott McKeown, a passenger who died that day.

The Metrolink dispatcher tapes, the 911 tapes, the LAFD reports, and the criminal trial transcripts will round out the story for a complete retelling of the crash and its aftermath.

In the end, readers will have gotten to know the victims and the heroes of this disaster. They will care about these people whose lives were so tragically interrupted and have the opportunity to see justice served when they learn of the conviction of Alvarez of eleven counts of first degree murder.

I have been teaching English and journalism at Mission College for fifteen years and publishing as a freelance writer for the past six, with articles appearing in The Los Angeles Times and Christian Science Monitor among other national and local publications.

Thank you for your consideration. I am including the first five pages of chapter 1, but I would be happy to send you a complete proposal at your convenience. Feel free to contact me should you need any other information.

Sincerely,
Vickie Oddino
818/426-3063
vaoddino@earthlink.net