Talk about being in the right place at an unfortunate time, most people could not have held it together and done that. You did good.

As for where to sit, the rear cars will almost always be the safest. Even if hit by an overtaking train from the rear, the velocity delta isn't even close to that of a head on collision.

While there's a good chance that Metrolink is correct in their, "We want to be honest in our appraisal," and be "open with the community", it also seems highly likely that at least part of their intent is getting out front of the lawsuit(s). (what if, when they pull all the cellphone records, they find he wasn't texting at the time of the incident? )

In the end the NTSB report is the only one that will matter regarding blame. If it's anything like an aircraft accident investigation, they'll know how much sleep he had, when he had his last drink if he drinks and if he was upset with his wife if he was married. If he was texting they'll find that cellphone and all the service provider records. They'll also know if all the mechanical systems worked or if something failed. There will be no rush to judgment in the report that matters.