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Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Bill to Increase Railroad Accident Liability Cap
LOS ANGELES—A Southern California congressman introduced a bill Thursday proposing to raise the limit on damage payouts to victims of a train crash from $200 million to $500 million.
Rep. Elton Gallegly said his bill is intended to help victims of a Metrolink commuter train crash that killed 25 people and injured more than 100 two years ago.
The magnitude of the crash is testing a federal law enacted in 1997 that set a $200 million liability cap for any passenger train accident. Gallegly, whose district includes dozens of passengers hurt in the crash, said $200 million will not adequately cover all the victims' losses and medical expenses.
"The current cap will not even meet the medical needs of the survivors of one of the worst passenger train accidents in modern history," he said in a statement.
Gallegly wants to amend the law by proposing to lift the cap to a half-billion dollars in cases where gross negligence or willful misconduct contributed to the cause of the crash. The amount would be adjusted annually for inflation by the congressional secretary.
The bill would apply retroactively to Sept. 12, 2008, when a Metrolink train ran a red light and collided head-on with a Union Pacific freight train in the Chatsworth area of the San Fernando Valley. Investigators believe a Metrolink engineer, who was provided by former contractor Connex Railroad, was texting moments before the crash.
-DAISY NGUYEN
Information Provided By: MercuryNews.com
Rep. Elton Gallegly said his bill is intended to help victims of a Metrolink commuter train crash that killed 25 people and injured more than 100 two years ago.
The magnitude of the crash is testing a federal law enacted in 1997 that set a $200 million liability cap for any passenger train accident. Gallegly, whose district includes dozens of passengers hurt in the crash, said $200 million will not adequately cover all the victims' losses and medical expenses.
"The current cap will not even meet the medical needs of the survivors of one of the worst passenger train accidents in modern history," he said in a statement.
Gallegly wants to amend the law by proposing to lift the cap to a half-billion dollars in cases where gross negligence or willful misconduct contributed to the cause of the crash. The amount would be adjusted annually for inflation by the congressional secretary.
The bill would apply retroactively to Sept. 12, 2008, when a Metrolink train ran a red light and collided head-on with a Union Pacific freight train in the Chatsworth area of the San Fernando Valley. Investigators believe a Metrolink engineer, who was provided by former contractor Connex Railroad, was texting moments before the crash.
-DAISY NGUYEN
Information Provided By: MercuryNews.com
No Injuries After Dump Truck & Train Collide
No injuries were reported as a result of a train and dump truck collision on August 16, 2010, but the wreck displaced 33 passengers aboard the Piedment 75 that left Cary at 12:02 p.m. en route to Charlotte.
Joining Morrisville firefighters and police in the accident investigation are workers with Amtrak's field operations department, Karina Romero, an Amtrak spokeswoman said this afternoon.
"Details of the tractor trailer's movement and placement at the time of the impact are still being investigated," Galloway stated in an afternoon press release.
The accident occurred just before 12:15 p.m. in a railroad crossing at the intersection of McCrimmon Parkway and N.C. 54, a 911 dispatcher reported.
The train sustained considerable damage to its front end as a result of the collision."The train will terminate where it is," Romero said. "The damage is too significant."
The dump truck driver narrowly avoided serious injury, and possibly death, when the cab of the vehicle he was driving separated from the bed when the passenger train collided with the vehicle at the railroad crossing.
"He was able to pull away upon impact," Galloway said. The train did not derail, she added.
The section of track where the wreck occurred is owned by the Norfolk Southern Corporation, Romero said.
-Thomasi McDonald
Information Provided By: newsobserver.com
Amtrak train hits, kills person in Orange County
Anaheim police and Amtrak officials were investigating a possible suicide by a person fatally hit by a train on October 29, 2010.
The incident took place on La Palma Avenue west of East Street, an Anaheim police official said.
No further details were immediately available.
Metrolink trains in Orange County are expecting delays of at least an hour, according to a Metrolink Twitter feed.
- Sam Quinones
Information Provided By:LA Times
The incident took place on La Palma Avenue west of East Street, an Anaheim police official said.
No further details were immediately available.
Metrolink trains in Orange County are expecting delays of at least an hour, according to a Metrolink Twitter feed.
- Sam Quinones
Information Provided By:LA Times
Third Train Death Shows Danger of Locomotives
Police say they can only speculate how 26-year-old Rockville resident William Donahoe ended up underneath a freight train in North Bethesda last week, making him the third since July found dead on train tracks in or around North Bethesda.
Investigations are made difficult by the nature of train strikes, where police say it can often be nearly impossible to identify the victims or how they came to be found along the tracks that run through the center of Montgomery County.
Cpl. Dan Friz, a spokesman with the Montgomery County Police Department, said Donahoe's death was no different. "Due to the severe damage to the victim's body detectives are having a hard time making determinations," he said.
Police identified Donahoe by a tattoo, said police spokesman Capt. Paul Starks. He said no foul play is suspected and detectives are uncertain about the events leading to his demise.
-aruoff@gazette.net
Information Provided By: gazette.net
Investigations are made difficult by the nature of train strikes, where police say it can often be nearly impossible to identify the victims or how they came to be found along the tracks that run through the center of Montgomery County.
Cpl. Dan Friz, a spokesman with the Montgomery County Police Department, said Donahoe's death was no different. "Due to the severe damage to the victim's body detectives are having a hard time making determinations," he said.
Police identified Donahoe by a tattoo, said police spokesman Capt. Paul Starks. He said no foul play is suspected and detectives are uncertain about the events leading to his demise.
-aruoff@gazette.net
Information Provided By: gazette.net
Westwood car-train collision injures man, 81
WESTWOOD — An 81-year-old Rockland County man was injured Tuesday afternoon when his car was struck by an NJ Transit train off Broadway near Washington Avenue, authorities said.
Paul Pesce of Pearl River, N.Y., was taken to Hackensack University Medical Center to be treated for minor injuries after the 2:40 p.m. accident, said Penny Bassett Hackett, an NJ Transit spokeswoman. The train struck Pesce’s Ford Crown Victoria after he drove it through a downed crossing gate as he was trying to turn into a parking lot from Broadway, Bassett Hackett said
The train was on its way to Spring Valley, N.Y., from Hoboken with 35 passengers aboard, none of whom were injured, Bassett Hackett said. Northbound traffic was delayed about an hour after the accident, though trains were running on schedule by 2:40
— William Lamb
Information provided by: northjersey.com
Paul Pesce of Pearl River, N.Y., was taken to Hackensack University Medical Center to be treated for minor injuries after the 2:40 p.m. accident, said Penny Bassett Hackett, an NJ Transit spokeswoman. The train struck Pesce’s Ford Crown Victoria after he drove it through a downed crossing gate as he was trying to turn into a parking lot from Broadway, Bassett Hackett said
The train was on its way to Spring Valley, N.Y., from Hoboken with 35 passengers aboard, none of whom were injured, Bassett Hackett said. Northbound traffic was delayed about an hour after the accident, though trains were running on schedule by 2:40
— William Lamb
Information provided by: northjersey.com
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