Engineer's Nightmare-Death by Fire-NS vs. Gas Tanker

[Anonymous]

Article from New Orleans Times Picayune via dogcaught.com


2 men killed, 1 injured in train-truck collision
Tanker had just taken on fuel at Chalmette refinery
Saturday, June 26, 2004
By Steve Cannizaro,
Karen Turni Bazile and Sandra Barbier
A Norfolk Southern Railway train tore through a gasoline tank truck at a Chalmette railroad crossing Friday, sparking a deadly explosion that horrified onlookers and sent a thick ball of black smoke into the air. The driver of the truck died at the scene; one of two men severely burned inside the locomotive died later Friday at Charity Hospital in New Orleans.

The other man on the train was flown Friday evening to the burn unit at Baton Rouge General Hospital, a Charity spokeswoman said.

The truck driver, Henry Blount, 55, of Holden, had compiled a perfect driving record for Lard Oil of Denham Springs, the shaken company president said.

Dennis Vinson, 58, of Covington, the engineer on the train, also died, said St. Bernard Parish Coroner Bryan Bertucci.

A Norfolk Southern spokeswoman had said earlier Friday that Vinson and the train's conductor, Anthony J. "Tony" Mills, 58, formerly of Chalmette and now living in the Carriere, Miss., area, were severely burned inside the locomotive cab.

Both were initially taken to Charity Hospital in critical condition.

Blount was hauling more than 8,000 gallons of gasoline he had just picked up at 10 a.m. at the Chalmette Refining plant when he drove the tanker north on Paris Road across the tracks that run parallel to West St. Bernard Highway and into the path of the train, which struck it on the left side, authorities said.

State Police said they are investigating the specific cause of the crash.

No crossing gate

Although the crossing is marked with signals, it doesn't have an automatic arm that blocks traffic. There is a traffic light at the intersection of Paris Road and West St. Bernard Highway, but authorities said that, even when the light is green, trains have the right of way.

Blount, who was married with two adult children, was killed in the inferno, authorities said. Flames from leaking gasoline leaped more than 50 feet into the air, witnesses said.

The billowing black smoke hung in the air and could be seen across the metro New Orleans area. St. Bernard Sheriff Jack Stephens said he saw the smoke from Shell Beach, more than 20 miles away in eastern St. Bernard.

No evacuation order was issued during the fire, although afterward, because of high benzene readings from the spilled gasoline, some nearby businesses were asked to close.

Johnny Milazzo, president of Lard Oil, said he was shocked by Blount's death. "He had a perfect record with our organization and this is a very difficult thing for me to try to accept," Milazzo said. "We're struggling to understand what happened."


85 fight the fire

Nearly 50 St. Bernard Parish firefighters, aided by 35 employees of two oil refineries trained in industrial fires, battled the four-alarm blaze for about an hour before it was extinguished. But the eastbound lanes of St. Bernard Highway near the intersection remained closed through the evening as crews continued working to contain the spilled gasoline.

A third railroad employee, brakeman Charles La Bella, 58, of Chalmette, jumped to safety from the train, authorities said. The locomotive was destroyed, railroad officials said.

Witnesses described the crash and resulting blaze as surreal, saying they weren't sure whether to try and help or run away for their own safety.

Ronnie Alonzo, a St. Bernard School Board administrator, said he was standing outside the school district's administration building less than a block east of the scene when he heard a long train whistle that drew his attention to the intersection seconds before the train hit the center of the tanker.

"It was slow motion, like something out of a movie. It kind of lifted (the tanker) up and turned it on its side," said Alonzo. "And as it turned on its side, the tanker cracked. You could see the liquid coming out and seconds after the liquid came out, flames started.

"We were torn about running in two directions: one to run to help and one to run away. Within a 10-to-15-second time frame, it blew. The flames shot 50 to 60 feet into the air," hitting the overhead electrical power lines, Alonzo said. "The fuel was dumping into the ditch and igniting, and it started coming toward us in the ditch. A lot of people didn't know which way to run."

One local resident said she was frightened by the smoke after hearing the explosion. "The black smoke was everywhere," said Sheila Wallace, who lives just west of the accident site. "We were really scared."

Power cut off

St. Bernard Parish Fire Chief Thomas Stone had praise for firefighters.

"It was extremely difficult," he said. "The heat was tremendous and they had to get close to it to lay their lines to protect rail cars."

Stone also said much of the load of gasoline went into a ditch along West St. Bernard Highway, which was fortunate because the fuel could have easily flooded the streets and run toward businesses, creating a greater danger, he said.

Noting that the Paris Road ferry and part of St. Bernard Highway were closed virtually all day, Stone said the fire "affected thousands of people metrowide."

Entergy officials said about 850 customers, including the nearby St. Bernard Parish Prison, were without electricity for about five hours. The prison had generators to produce electricity, but didn't have the power for air conditioning, authorities said.

State Police were on the scene, along with state Department of Environmental Quality officials and an environmental cleanup company.


'I had to go back'

Felton LaFrance, 41, of Pointe a la Hache, was in a car in a lane next to the tanker truck, waiting for the light to change at the intersection of Paris Road and St. Bernard Highway.

"The light changed and the 18-wheeler went across the road and the train struck," said LaFrance, who was with his wife and son.

He said he heard the train's whistles and bells and he accidentally drove into a ditch trying to get away from the impact and heat, but ran back to help men he saw were on fire.

"I pulled them to the water in the ditch," he said, and said he tried to help one man whose hair and body were burning.

"When I saw them people on fire, I had to go back. They were hollering for help. I had to go back," LaFrance said.

[Anonymous]

How sad, how very sad. [V]

My heart felt condolences to the families of the fallen railroaders and driver.

A true railroad tragedy.

I hope that those who witnessed the accident will endeavor to teach others not to ever drive into a train's path.

[Anonymous]

As a former driver and reading the account of the tanker being tipped over. I dont think Mr Blount had a chance, I hoped he did not suffer. As for the Train Crew my condolences as well.

It is time for all involved to consider a retaining wall along the edge of the road to keep traffic from getting near the train in the future. Concrete is cheap life is not.

[cherokee woman]

My heartfelt condolences go to the families and friends. May God comfort them in
their time of sorrow and grief.

[Rustyrex]

What a terrible tragedy to occur to both the train crew and trucker. My condolences go out to all the families involved in this. Also, a speedy recovery and well wishes to the other train crewmen who were injured.

[Modelcar]

...This has to be the worst kind of scenario...The worst...!

[adrianspeeder]

Oooohh @#$%. Thats one of my fears. Fire. I keep extinguishers in my trucks and recommend you all do too.

Know an emt that was on a scene where a truck lost its brakes and T boned into the valve part of a gas tanker. He was trapped and couldn't get out as the gas poured around him. Then a spark from somewhere, or maybe the exhaust heat, lit it. Firemen weren't there yet, just him and a cop. He heard the poor guy yelling to the cop to shoot him, cause there was just no way he was coming out alive, or go quick.

Now I'm all sad again.
A moment of reflection is needed about all our lives and how easy it can end.

Adrianspeeder

[Mikeygaw]

report from a Yahoo list i belong to... it was reported that the truck driver was yacking on a cell phone at the time... have to wonder how much effect that might of had

[JoeKoh]

my condolences to the families.its law that all trucks hauling flammables are suppossed to stop at all rr crossings.and being on a cell phone distracts the driver too.
stay safe
Joe

[locomutt]

QUOTE: Originally posted by jhhtrainsplanes

How sad, how very sad. [V]

My heart felt condolences to the families of the fallen railroaders and driver.

A true railroad tragedy.

I hope that those who witnessed the accident will endeavor to teach others not to ever drive into a train's path.

Jim,
I used your quote to express my feelings.
That is so sad.
My condolences to all involived.

[Anonymous]

One other interesting and sad note. All three of the railroaders involved were the same age, 58, only two years to retirement assuming they had 30 years service.

Sounds as though the trucker saw the green traffic light and just went for it somehow missing the active RR warnings and train horn.

LC

[Anonymous]

One more thing. From time to time we have the question in this forum of whether it is better to ride out an impact in the cab or jump for it. I usually go with riding it out, but this is definitely a situation where I would say JUMP!

LC

[Anonymous]

Update From Channel 26 New Orleans:

June 26, 2004, 4:09 PM CDT

NEW ORLEANS -- Three men are dead of injuries they suffered in a fiery crash between a gas tanker truck and a train in Chalmette Friday.

Trooper Omar Landrum of the Louisiana State police confirms Norfolk Southern train engineer Dennis Vinson, 58, of Covington and conductor Anthony Mills, 58, of Holden, died from burns they received over 90-percent of their bodies in the crash.

The crash happened Friday morning just after 10am near Paris Road and St. Bernard Highway. Investigators say the tanker truck full of gasoline was heading north on Paris Road and crossed into the path of the train. A witness said the truck driver was talking on a cell phone.

State Police say it appears the driver of the tanker ignored sounds and lights other motorists heard at the railroad crossing.

As the train made contact with it, the tanker exploded immediately, killing the driver. Police have not released his name, pending identification through dental records.

Both Vinson and Mills, who were on the train, were transported to the Medical Center of Louisiana by helicopter promptly after the crash, but foul weather delayed their transport to the Baton Rouge burn center. Mills was flown to Baton Rouge later Friday, where he was pronounced dead.

[Willy2]

My condolences to all families. That is the worst case scenario! It is really terrifying to hear about things like that.

Willy

[tree68]

I add my condolences to all involved.
However,
[soapbox]
This simply justifies NY's (and any other states) cell phone law - no cell phone use in a vehicle unless you are on hands-free. I know from experience that when a person is talking on a cell phone that their mind is in the conversation, and not on the road. It's bad enough on hands-free, but far worse when you are holding the headset to your ear.

To think - this accident (and this thread) would have been prevented if the truck driver had pulled to the side of the road during his conversation.

Off [soapbox]

[Anonymous]

Oh My Lord! Our prayers are with the families and victims of this tragic accident.

[Anonymous]

My condolences all around.

But the sad fact is that the railroad will more than likely end up at "fault" by the time the press and the special interest groups get done with it. No matter what happens it was always the big bad train that hit the truck, or the big bad railroad that didn't protect you from killing yourself.

[wabash1]

It is law that any truck hauling haz-mat must stop at railroad crossing . I am going to wait til the report comes out as to what the speed of the train was. and when the engineer put it in emergency.

[Allen Jenkins]

Not...a good thing, for those in the ground transportation effort. Rue Cajon! The trucking industry taught me, that there's no such thing as an "accident." Everything which occurs, is a planned chain of events. Yes, all hazmat CDL (Commercial Drivers Lisense) card holders are tested every two years, and the "stop at all RR crossings" rule is covered. The disfunction of a crossing protective device, in other words "trust" in a man made electrical device went the way of the dinosaur, for me when my scanner reported an engineer calling the dispatcher, on this very road, to report that the lights and gates failed to activate until the engines made the crossing! (There is a motion detector on both sides of every crossing at grade, as a fail-safe activation precaution). Traffic gates won't prevent an illegal crossover, so lets get off the enabling. The number one prevention of accidents, is inattention. I have this lack of saftey considerations for life limb and property, well doccumented on the railroad videos, I have collected. I see this at my fast food job, (working my way through school), when drive-through customers have to wait for me to cross through in front of them, from the dumpster to the backdoor. I don't visit the scene of accidents, I can't stomach the hurt it places on the lives of people. I would stop to render aid, in a heartbeat, with an American Red Cross card, and trainning. And I will enlist you to help if your there, considering the dangers, present. If a vehicle is blocking a crossing, or main, use jumpers to drop the signals, to red. Condolances to the families, and prayer, and the Bible says in Proverbs, The horse is prepared against the day of battle, but saftey is of the Lord. Enjoy Saftey! ACJ.

[daveklepper]

This driver clearly broke two laws: Stop at every grade crossing like a school bus when you are handling hazardus material, and not using cell phones while driving. At the same time, there is obviously something completely wrong for a traffic signal to show green while lights are flashing and bells are ringing at a grade crossing. One doesn't to be an electronic genius to come up with the circuit that can synchronize the traffic light with the railroad crossing light, and this should be done as soon as possible in all applicable situations!

[88gta350]

I once saw a video of a train striking a tanker truck of gasoline. I believe the video was out of mexico, it was shot from a helicopter. The tanker had stalled or become stuck on the tracks, and a train struck it. The fireball engulfed several city blocks, and obviously it's nothing anyone should ever have to experience.

My condolences to the families involved.

[rrnut282]

My condolences to all. Unfortunately, as ugly as this was, it will get uglier as the lawyers get involved, second-guessing and critiquing every aspect of this situation.