Metrolink OKs Settlement With Former Spokeswoman: Report
Thursday, Jan 7, 2010 | Updated 2:58 PM PST
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A Metrolink train rolls past a memorial in the days after a deadly crash in Chatsworth.
Metrolink has agreed to $135,500 settlement with its former spokeswoman, who resigned in a dispute over public comments she made after last year's Chatsworth train crash, according to a report in the Los Angeles Times.
Denise Tyrrell, who was recently hired to manage the state Public Utilities Commission's Los Angeles office, was the public face of the commuter rail agency in the grim early hours after the Sept. 12 disaster, which killed 25 and injured 135.
She resigned within days after being criticized by some Metrolink officials and federal investigators for announcing that a preliminary investigation had found that the Metrolink engineer ran a red light. Tyrrell later said that Metrolink's chief executive, David R. Solow, had agreed to make the public announcement.
The internal settlement was signed in March but released Tuesday in response to a public-records request made by the Los Angeles Times. The settlement bars Tyrrell from disclosing confidential Metrolink information or making any statements disparaging or discrediting the agency, its employees or board members, according to The Times.
