Railroad Accident Attorney
cell: 314.409.9606
toll free: 1.800.449.7135
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Train accident in Ralston
Ralston, Iowa -- No injuries are being reported and there is only minor damage after a Union Pacific Freight Train hit a locomotive on the main tracks near a grain elevator in Ralston. The accident happened around 9:00 a.m. Monday when the locomotive left the elevator to go on the main line. The freight train was headed from Chicago to California while hauling 76 cars full of vehicles and was going about 20 mph. There was no derailment.
Monday, January 10, 2011
Train vs. semi
A BNSF train struck a semitrailer Friday afternoon, but the driver received only minor injuries and was not taken to a hospital.
A BNSF train accident that happened on Abingdon Street just south of 3rd Street on Friday.
Truck driver Kevin Kniss, 54, Lanark, was headed to the ADM facility at 1021 S. Henderson St. when he was struck by a slow-moving westbound train while crossing the tracks. The accident occurred at 1:09 p.m. on Abingdon Street south of Third Street. The driver received only minor injuries and was not taken to a hospital.
Story provided by: galesburg.com
A train wreck of a decision
It's easy enough to miss a train. You just show up late at the depot.
But how do you miss - i.e., not see -- a train that's bearing down on you at a crossing? Even Johnny Cash in his Folsom Prison cell heard the train a-coming.
Sure, your car might stall on the tracks, or you might miscalculate trying to beat the train to the crossing. But, unless you're not paying attention, you're not likely to miss a train coming down on you.
Guy Webb sure did, though. He drove his truck onto a private crossing in Iron County, Mo. in 2007 and collided with a Union Pacific train. Guy suffered massive injuries and his brother, James, in the passenger seat, was killed.
Guy Webb blamed Union Pacific for the accident and sued the railroad. James Webb's daughter, Misty, decided her uncle was at least partly to blame. She sued the railroad and her uncle. The uncle settled with his niece and the two joined forces against Union Pacific.
Armed with video footage of the accident from a camera mounted on the train, the railroad argued that Guy Webb ran a stop sign posted at the private crossing, stopped on the company's tracks, and then accelerated into the train. Union Pacific also contended that both Webb brothers were under the influence of the drug Ecstasy at the time.
Madison County Circuit Judge Andreas Matoesian refused to allow evidence of the brothers' drug use and rejected the railroad's crucial distinction between private and public crossings, which require different levels of caution. As a result, the jury found in favor of the Webbs.
Union Pacific is appealing the $1.25 million judgment, arguing that the distinction between public and private crossings is the essential question in the case.
You've got to wonder how Judge Matoesian could miss something so obvious. It's almost like missing a train.
Story provided by: stclairrecord.com
But how do you miss - i.e., not see -- a train that's bearing down on you at a crossing? Even Johnny Cash in his Folsom Prison cell heard the train a-coming.
Sure, your car might stall on the tracks, or you might miscalculate trying to beat the train to the crossing. But, unless you're not paying attention, you're not likely to miss a train coming down on you.
Guy Webb sure did, though. He drove his truck onto a private crossing in Iron County, Mo. in 2007 and collided with a Union Pacific train. Guy suffered massive injuries and his brother, James, in the passenger seat, was killed.
Guy Webb blamed Union Pacific for the accident and sued the railroad. James Webb's daughter, Misty, decided her uncle was at least partly to blame. She sued the railroad and her uncle. The uncle settled with his niece and the two joined forces against Union Pacific.
Armed with video footage of the accident from a camera mounted on the train, the railroad argued that Guy Webb ran a stop sign posted at the private crossing, stopped on the company's tracks, and then accelerated into the train. Union Pacific also contended that both Webb brothers were under the influence of the drug Ecstasy at the time.
Madison County Circuit Judge Andreas Matoesian refused to allow evidence of the brothers' drug use and rejected the railroad's crucial distinction between private and public crossings, which require different levels of caution. As a result, the jury found in favor of the Webbs.
Union Pacific is appealing the $1.25 million judgment, arguing that the distinction between public and private crossings is the essential question in the case.
You've got to wonder how Judge Matoesian could miss something so obvious. It's almost like missing a train.
Story provided by: stclairrecord.com
Friday, January 7, 2011
Police identify victims in fatal car-train crash
Police have released the names of the men involved in a car-train collision in the Township of Montague on Wednesday. Logan Stoddard, 21, of Smiths Falls was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. Elmer Miller, 26, of Montague Township was taken to Smiths Falls Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The accident, involving a freight train, happened at 12:45 p.m.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Train Accident Victim Identified
16-Year-Old Humberto Moreno Wearing Headphones at Time of Accident
The incident is being classified as an accident, said Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Department spokesperson Brad McVay, and investigators are still trying to find the other individuals who were seen on the tracks with the victim yesterday.
Moreno, reported McVay, was in the possession of an MP3 player and had headphones on, but it’s not known if that had anything to do with the accident.
Story provided by: independent.com
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Teen killed trying to ''beat train'' across tracks
CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- State Police called the Lincoln County incident where a local teen lost his life trying to beat a train at an intersection "a horrible accident."
Trooper S.L Bartram said it happened about 8 p.m. Monday on Nine Mile Creek Road in the Midkiff area. A 16-year-old Branchland boy was driving alone in a 2000 Chevrolet Blazer heading east on the road coming from W.Va. 10 when he came to a train crossing, where a southbound CSX train was approaching.
The boy tried to speed up in effort to beat the train to the crossing, troopers said, but he didn't make it.
Bartram said the train struck the SUV, killing the boy inside.
The train had been going roughly 35 mph and tried to stop when the workers spotted the vehicle. Bartram said no injuries were reported aboard the train, but workers were shaken up from the incident.
"They hit the brakes," Bartram said. "They did the best they could stopping the train but it takes about a mile to stop them."
The trooper said the crash appears to be "a total accident," and that there were no indications to lead them to believe otherwise.
Bartram urged motorists to use caution when approaching railroad crossings and to stop if a train is approaching.
"Don't try to beat a train," he said. "Honest to God, if you see a train coming you should stop. Not only is it the law but it's just plain common sense."
Troopers have not released the boy's name, but multiple postings on the social networking website Facebook identify the teen as James Sias.
Story provided by: dailymail.com
Trooper S.L Bartram said it happened about 8 p.m. Monday on Nine Mile Creek Road in the Midkiff area. A 16-year-old Branchland boy was driving alone in a 2000 Chevrolet Blazer heading east on the road coming from W.Va. 10 when he came to a train crossing, where a southbound CSX train was approaching.
The boy tried to speed up in effort to beat the train to the crossing, troopers said, but he didn't make it.
Bartram said the train struck the SUV, killing the boy inside.
The train had been going roughly 35 mph and tried to stop when the workers spotted the vehicle. Bartram said no injuries were reported aboard the train, but workers were shaken up from the incident.
"They hit the brakes," Bartram said. "They did the best they could stopping the train but it takes about a mile to stop them."
The trooper said the crash appears to be "a total accident," and that there were no indications to lead them to believe otherwise.
Bartram urged motorists to use caution when approaching railroad crossings and to stop if a train is approaching.
"Don't try to beat a train," he said. "Honest to God, if you see a train coming you should stop. Not only is it the law but it's just plain common sense."
Troopers have not released the boy's name, but multiple postings on the social networking website Facebook identify the teen as James Sias.
Story provided by: dailymail.com
Monday, January 3, 2011
WMATA receives $150 million from FTA for safety repairs
The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) has received a $150 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (USDOT) Federal Transit Administration to replace old "1000-Series" rail cars.
Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia will provide $150 million in matching local funds to help pay for the car replacements, USDOT officials said in a prepared statement.
The National Transportation Safety Board previously cited the 1000-Series cars as a contributing factor to the number of fatalities and the severity of passengers' injuries caused by a June 2009 Red Line train accident near Fort Totten Station.
About $79.3 million of the grant will be used to buy as many as 300 new 7000-Series rail cars; WMATA will use $44.4 million to pay for track rehabilitation and apply the remainder toward other infrastructure projects, such as Metrorail station improvements, rehabilitation of track maintenance equipment, replacement of track switching equipment, and elevator and escalator repairs.
Story provided by: progressiverailroading.com
Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia will provide $150 million in matching local funds to help pay for the car replacements, USDOT officials said in a prepared statement.
The National Transportation Safety Board previously cited the 1000-Series cars as a contributing factor to the number of fatalities and the severity of passengers' injuries caused by a June 2009 Red Line train accident near Fort Totten Station.
About $79.3 million of the grant will be used to buy as many as 300 new 7000-Series rail cars; WMATA will use $44.4 million to pay for track rehabilitation and apply the remainder toward other infrastructure projects, such as Metrorail station improvements, rehabilitation of track maintenance equipment, replacement of track switching equipment, and elevator and escalator repairs.
Story provided by: progressiverailroading.com
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)