TRUCK DRIVER IN FATAL CRASH TESTS POSITIVE FOR MARIJUANA

PORTAGE, Ind. (AP) A truck driver involved in last week's fatal crash of a
Chicago-bound commuter train tested positive for marijuana, police said.

Three people died and six others were injured June 18 when the train rammed
the tractor-trailer, sending a 20-ton steel coil from the truck through the
train's passenger compartment.

Keith J. Lintz, 39, has told National Transportation Safety Board
investigators his truck was boxed in between the South Shore Railroad tracks
and a parallel set of Conrail tracks just before the crash.

Portage Police Chief David Reynolds said Tuesday toxicology lab tests
indicated Lintz, of Niles, Mich., "tested positive for marijuana."
Authorities wouldn't say how high a level of the chemical the test found.
Drug and alcohol tests on the train's conductor and engineer came back negative.

Prosecutors haven't decided whether criminal charges are warranted against
Lintz.

Federal investigators have said it probably will be several months before
the cause of the crash is known. They have determined the train was in good
condition and that its brakes were operating.

Proving marijuana played a role in the crash will be difficult, said defense
lawyer Larry Rogers, a former Porter County deputy police chief.

"The chemical THC in marijuana stays in the blood for 28 to 30 days. Even if
a driver tests positive for marijuana, it may have nothing to do with the
accident," he said.

An off-duty South Shore employee, Glenn Walker, 38, of Michigan City, and
two commuters, William J. McCombs, 57, of LaPorte and Gary G. Berndt, 53, of
Baroda, Mich., died in the crash.

The commuter railroad runs 90 miles from South Bend to Chicago. Portage is
about 30 miles southeast of Chicago.

Checked-by: Melodi Cornett