Family court drives man to suicide

The man who caused the L.A. train wreck turns out to be a victim of the family court:

According to investigators, Mr. Alvarez is an itinerant laborer with no fixed address. When detectives asked him to volunteer to a search of his residence, Mr. Alvarez said he did not have one, that he had been bouncing from couch to couch since he had a falling out with his wife, Carmelita.

She filed a restraining order against him two months ago, saying he was prone to drug-induced hysteria. ...

Mrs. Alvarez got an order of protection against him in December, forbidding him to see his children. Mr. Alvarez began to threaten suicide to friends, investigators said. Late Tuesday evening or early Wednesday, Mr. Alvarez cut his arms and stabbed himself in the chest but the wounds were so superficial, he remained conscious.

He drove onto the railroad tracks in Glendale, not far from the Los Angeles city line. Investigators believe that Mr. Alvarez wanted to die under the wheels of the train, but that when it approached, he reconsidered. With his tire apparently caught between the tracks, Mr. Alvarez jumped out of the Jeep and ran.

I wonder whether the family court judges even realize what a blow it is for a father to be ordered not to see his kids.