Christopher BergLos Angeles, CA – A train engineer has been arrested for derailing a train at high speeds while trying to ram the USNS Mercy hospital ship.
The engineer ran the Pacific Harbor Line train through the end of the track, ramming barriers, and the train came to rest 250 yards from the ship on Tuesday, according to NBC News.
The engineer, 44-year-old Eduardo Moreno, stated that he believed that the ship was suspicious and “the ship is not what they say it is for,” according to KABC.
Nobody was injured in the attack.
Upon being contacted after the crash, Moreno told a California Highway Patrol officer, “You only get this chance once. The whole world is watching. I had to. People don’t know what’s going on here. Now they will.”
He later told the Los Angeles Port Police that he believed the ship was being used as part of a government takeover.
The engineer is currently facing a charge for train wrecking, and if convicted he could be sentenced to 20 years in federal prison.
The incident was captured on video from the train’s cab, according to the Department of Justice.
The USNS Mercy is currently serving as a referral hospital for non-Coronavirus cases, which will allow the local hospitals to focus on the COVID-19 pandemic.
The ship is staffed by U.S. Navy medical personnel.