It’s tough to be the official spokesperson when a crisis strikes an organization.  Emotions always run very high when something really bad happens. That was never more evident than in the case of Denise Tyrrell who was the spokesperson for the Metrolink commuter rail system in Southern California.  On the afternoon of September 12, 2008 Metrolink Train 111 collided head-on with a Union Pacific freight train near Chatsworth, California after apparently blowing through a red stop signal on the track.   25 people died and 135 were injured in one of the most horrific commuter train accidents in recent memory.  Battle-tested firefighters who have seen all matter of death and destruction were brought to tears as they described the rescue effort to reporters.  Within 24 hours of the incident, the emotions of the tragedy brought Metrolink to make one of the most common mistakes in crisis management: Metrolink jumped the gun by assessing blame.

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