News: Railroad Crossing Accidents

---

Freight Train Strikes 18-Wheeler Truck In Texas

Texas Department of Public Safety Trooper Kirby Jarrell said a man was driving an 18-wheeler truck near Hallsville, Texas when the truck got stuck on a railroad track. The man escaped injury when he noticed a train traveling toward him and hopped out of his truck before the train smashed into it.

''The train was trying to stop,'' said Trooper Jarrell. ''But, as long as it is, there wasn’t any way it could stop.'' Jarrell said the train was traveling about 42 mph.

A Hallsville Emergency Medical Services truck and a West Harrison County fire truck were dispatched as a precautionary measure. No injuries or spills were reported.

Trooper Jarrell said accidents like this happen more often than people may realize. ''This happens all the time,'' he said. ''I’ve been here four years and this is probably number five.''

Arkansas Crossing Fatality

An Atkins, Arkansas man died when a Union Pacific Railroad train crashed into his car as he attempted to cross the tracks near the Atkins Prepared Foods plant, according to Pope County Sheriff Aaron DuVall.

James Anderson, 61, was an employee at Atkins Prepared Foods. He was driving north after leaving work at approximately 2:45 p.m. when the westbound Union Pacific train hit Anderson’s blue 1995 Buick Century on the passenger side. He was the only person inside the car and was wearing his seat belt. There are no crossing gates at the intersection where the accident occurred.

Sheriff DuVall said Union Pacific Railroad and the Atkins Police Department were still investigating the incident. ''They’re still interviewing people,'' he said.

Investigators Say Headphones May Have Contributed To Railroad Crossing Accident

Investigators found headphones and a music player at the scene of a fatal railroad crossing wreck. They say the driver may have been listening to music on his headphones before he was struck and killed by a train in Litchfield, Minnesota. The driver was 24 year old Keith Sully McKay. A Meeker County sheriff’s report says the BNSF train was traveling at about 44 miles per hour and sounded its horn for nearly a minute before the collision.

Investigation of UK Crossings Without Barriers

Unlike the United States, a probe will be launched in the UK into all grade level crossings without barriers. Typically in the U.S. when someone is killed at a railroad grade crossing, the railroad blames the driver and the police issue a ticket for failing to yield the right-of-way. Following three deaths when a train ploughed into their car, the Rail Accident Investigation Branch announced it will do checks on 160 unguarded crossings.

UK Railroad Employee Advocates Gates for All Crossings

Graeme MacMillian is a railroad employee in Scotland, presumably appreciates the risk at grade crossings, and yet was hit by a train in 2008. MacMillian survived and, as is typical in the United States, faced criminal charges following the incident. MacMillian has called for barriers to be installed at every level crossing, their term for what we call a crossing grade.

He said he believes the 23 crossings in Scotland, which do not have barriers are “not safe”. His claim follows the death of Inverness couple Angus and Margaret MacKay, and Mr. MacKay’s brother, Donald after their Nissan car was crushed by a train at a level crossing.

Mr. MacMillian of 11 Englishton Muir, Bunchrew said the fatal crash left him feeling ''angry'' that so many crossing do not have barriers. He said: ''I was angry because I know these accidents are preventable. There is no excuse – these crossings are not safe.''

Colorado Man Dies In Collision At Private Road Crossing

A Colorado Springs man died after his van was hit by a Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad freight train near the northern Pueblo County line.

The victim was identified as 68 year old Donald Murphy. Pueblo County Coroner James Kramer pronounced Murphy dead at the scene.

The accident happened at a private road railroad crossing just east of Interstate 25. Cpl. Stan Chacon of the Colorado State Patrol said it appeared the victim was trying to drive east over the railroad tracks when the train hit him.

The BNSF engineer told investigators that Murphy, ''looked both ways and the next thing he knew, he was on the tracks,'' Chacon said.

The crossing is at the end of a dead-end frontage road that leads to a private road. The crossing is not equipped with warning signs, flashing light signals, or crossing arm gates.

The BNSF freight train was southbound carrying coal and traveling about 45 mph. It took roughly a half mile and 35 seconds to stop the train after the impact.

FRA Crossing Accident Statistics 2009

According to Federal Railroad Administration statistics compiled through June 2009, 961 railroad crossing accidents have occurred in the United States. These train crossing incidents have resulted in 110 deaths and 345 people injured. In Texas alone, 99 railroad crossing accidents were reported in the same time period. The Texas train crossing incidents resulted in 15 fatalities and injuries to 35 people.

FRA Gives $1 Million to Operation Lifesaver

The Federal Railroad Administration has granted $1 million to Operation Lifesaver to support the non-profit organization’s education outreach efforts aimed at promoting railroad crossing safety and preventing trespassing. According to the FRA, 2,395 railroad crossing incidents occurred last year, resulting in 287 deaths, and many more injuries. Operation Lifesaver provides money to individual state programs that support railroad safety awareness programs. The organization has announced plans for new initiatives to aid its outreach efforts, including projects designed to target new and non-traditional audiences at the state and local levels.

Train Hits Pedestrian in Minneapolis – Third Light-Rail Incident in Just Over One Month

Police say Peter Hoecherl was on foot when he was hit by a Minneapolis Metro Transit Light Rail train on Hiawatha Avenue between 32nd and 33rd streets. Police are still trying to determine why it happened.

Hoecherl was alert and talking before he was taken to an area hospital, but remains in critical condition.

Metro Transit service was interrupted for about an hour. As normal procedure, Metro Transit say the train conductor will be tested for drugs and alcohol.

This is the third light-rail train accident along Hiawatha Avenue in just over a month. A man was hit and killed by a train near 26th and Hiawatha Avenue on August 13. On August 3, witnesses claim a train smashed into Abdirahman Hirsi after he drove a car around a crossing arm. He died six days later in a hospital.

Hospitalized Train Crash Victim Ticketed by State Police

The pattern of blaming the driver in crossing accidents reached a new low recently in Louisiana.

Louisiana sate police issued Leobardo Guerrereo a citation for failure to yield as he was being treated at LSU Heath Sciences Center-Monroe before being transferred to Shreveport after he was hit by a Union Pacific Railroad freight train.

''It was very upsetting to the family,'' said his daughter, Brandi Donald. The police left the ticket with Guerrereo's wife. ''My father was fighting for his life and the state police bring a ticket to the hospital. I know they have a job to do, but it looks like they could have handled it differently.'' The family also states that the Union Pacific train did not sound its horn before reaching the Sugar Farm Road crossing where it crashed into Leobardo Guerrereo.

Troop F spokesman Mark Dennis said delivering citations to offenders following an accident is standard procedure even if it's at a hospital.

State police also reported that Guerrereo had ''moderate injuries,'' which also riled the family. ''He’s got 14 broken ribs, a collapsed lung, a broken chest plate, head injuries and injuries to his organs,'' Donald said. ''He’s in surgical ICU and hasn’t been conscious since he was transferred.''

Public Service Commissioner Foster Campbell said he was disgusted by the state police’s action. ''What if the man was killed? Would they have taken the citation to the funeral home and put it on his casket?'' Campbell said. ''That’s the coldest thing I’ve ever heard.''

Guerrereo was pulling a trailer with his John Deere tractor on Sugar Farm Road near Bosco about 6:15 p.m. Saturday when he was hit by the train at the crossing, which is marked only by a white ''Railroad Crossing'' sign known as cross bucks. The crossing did not have lights or gates to warn drivers of approaching trains.

Donald said witnesses told her and state police that there was no warning whistle. ''My father has farmed that land for 50 years – he started when he was 10,'' Donald said. ''He always pays attention to the crossing. He’s told us a thousand times to watch out for trains at that crossing. It’s hard for me to believe that there was a whistle.''