A jury was chosen today for the trial of a man accused of parking his SUV on railroad tracks and causing a Metrolink derailment that killed 11 people and injured more than 180 others in January 2005.

Attorneys are due back in court tomorrow to pick six alternate jurors who could be called upon if any of the original 12 panelists are dismissed during the trial of Juan Manuel Alvarez.

Opening statements are tentatively set for late this month.

Alvarez, now 29, is charged with 11 counts of murder and one count each of arson and train wrecking, along with the special circumstance allegations of multiple murders and train wrecking.

Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against Alvarez, who has been jailed without bail since shortly after the Jan. 26, 2005, crash.

Metrolink train No. 100 -- which was heading southbound -- derailed after plowing into the Jeep, then crashed into northbound Metrolink train No. 902 at the Glendale-Los Angeles city line.

In a recent court motion, Alvarez's defense team contended the crash "involved an improbable series of factors that transformed Juan Alvarez's aborted attempt to commit suicide into a tragedy that killed eleven commuters."