https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/public-safety/story/2024-01-15/man-struck-and-killed-by-train-in-carlsbad-in-fourth-local-train-fatality-in-five-days
Three passenger, one freight; two in darkness, two in daylight. Shaking my head.
The train always wins. It would be interesting to know of other distractions that may have contributed (earbud/phones likely a leading contender).
Larry Resident Microferroequinologist (at least at my house) Everyone goes home; Safety begins with you My Opinion. Standard Disclaimers Apply. No Expiration Date Come ride the rails with me! There's one thing about humility - the moment you think you've got it, you've lost it...
I'll take Suicide for $1000, Alex.
Backshop I'll take Suicide for $1000, Alex.
Crossed my mind, but I thought I'd give them the benefit of the doubt...
Totally a very, very, VERY REGULAR occcurence! Chuck, you simply have NO idea how many people have been hit and killed on that very line! The numbers are staggering!
Chuck had been a San Diego aea resident in times past, so I'm pretty sure that he's familiar with tresspasser fatality count. One of the most bizarre took place a bit over 30 years ago in Encinitas - a group of four decided that the tracks would be a good place to hold a BBQ and card party until an Amtrak train in push mode hit them.
Make take on the last week. The incident with the BNSF freight last weekend makes me wonder if alcohol and other mind altering substances was involved. The incident with the dog walker makes me wonder what the dog and owner were doing on the tracks. There was a similar incident a few years ago in Del Mar where a dog walker was killed by a train. Perhaps we need a dog owner training program to remind them about the dangers of tresspassing on a railroad track.
Seasoned hoggers can tell the difference between a suicide and errant trespasser. After reviewing enough incident downloads so can I.
Editor Emeritus, This Week at Amtrak
Erik_MagThe incident with the dog walker makes me wonder what the dog and owner were doing on the tracks.
The first thing that I thought when I read the report is that maybe the dog got loose or was scared by the train horn and pulled onto or close to the tracks. The man may have been trying to save the dog.
This is all conjecture on my part.
York1 John
I asked my doctor if I gave up delicious food and all alcohol, would I live longer? He said, "No, but it will seem longer."
Erik_Mag:
Unless Chuck is or was employed by one of the railroads that use the ex-Santa Fe line, it is doubtful he knows of the full scope of all the chronic tragic deaths on that line. I go back to the turn of the millennium in my postings, though my forum start date and count doesn’t accurately reflect that. I remember Chuck’s great post contributions from years ago. He is a valuable asset to the forum, and does not share in the hateful, wicked antagonism that seems to prevail these days at forums. Society has radically changed for the worse, I guess, but Chuck seems to be way, way above all that! My sources, in returning to this thread’s theme, have told me very gory details about incidents, and how the railroad employes involved deal or not deal with such incidents! Ironically, I was told of a fatal incident where the crew was relieved, and back in the office on standby THEY got the call to relieve yet another crew involved in another fatal incident!
A big misconception about trains is that they're always noisy and can be heard from miles away. Likely some of these people got caught by surprise and paid the ultimate price. Suicide by train sounds like a hellish awful way to go..can't imagine that would be a preferred choice when there are cleaner and more surefire, less painful options.
UlrichA big misconception about trains is that they're always noisy and can be heard from miles away. Likely some of these people got caught by surprise and paid the ultimate price. Suicide by train sounds like a hellish awful way to go..can't imagine that would be a preferred choice when there are cleaner and more surefire, less painful options.
Suicide by train is a near guarantee that there won't be a open casket funeral.
Never too old to have a happy childhood!
For being relatively quiet, it's hard to top suburban push-pulls in the push mode or electrics, either as MU's or locomotive-powered.
York1 The first thing that I thought when I read the report is that maybe the dog got loose or was scared by the train horn and pulled onto or close to the tracks. The man may have been trying to save the dog. This is all conjecture on my part.
I used to work about 3/4 mile north of the Sorrento Valley Coaster station, along the AT&SF line, with some of the parking spots abot 30' from the track. The area is a commercial/industrial zone, which makes me wonder why the person was walking his dog near the tracks in that location. One thought was to avoid having to pick up after his dog - which is pure conjecture on my part.
One of the other fatalities was closer to San Diego and I saw a news item that the FRA temporarily revoked the quiet zone permit for the crossing near Little Italy for repeated violations of the conditions for the permit. Not sure if it has any relevance to the aforementioned fatality.
croteaudd Totally a very, very, VERY REGULAR occcurence! Chuck, you simply have NO idea how many people have been hit and killed on that very line! The numbers are staggering!
I have lived in San Diego now for 58 years, and for much of that time, I have read the local fishwrap, which to my understanding reports every fatal interaction with rail vehicles, usually as a squib in their "public safety" section which resides on the second page of the local section, though sometimes a story appears on one of the front pages.
One can become inured to these frequent stories because of their sheer volume. One thing that is interesting, at least to me, is that so few of these fatalities any more involve the trolley system, even with expansions over the years. There is rarely a follow-up as to specific causes, such as suicide, substance impairment, lapse of situational awareness or judgment and other explanations. The medical examiner releases are usually lacking in further light on the actual causes.
At one point a few years ago, I started to collect the individual stories, but frankly, the number and speed with which they accumulated was too depressing, so I stopped doing that. These events seem to come in waves, and this little surge was one of those waves. More will come, if past performance is any indicator.
Not San Diego, but a potentially troublesome precedent:
Someone needs to find and post a report of the recent expensive court judgment against Union Pacific, involving a drunken woman who trespassed and sat down on the track. Apparently some of the same logic as in the Midnight Rider case -- the engineer didn't promptly throw the train in emergency.
Overmod Not San Diego, but a potentially troublesome precedent: Someone needs to find and post a report of the recent expensive court judgment against Union Pacific, involving a drunken woman who trespassed and sat down on the track. Apparently some of the same logic as in the Midnight Rider case -- the engineer didn't promptly throw the train in emergency.
From early childhood I was blessed to live by the tracks! As a kid in the late 50’s and early 60’s, Southern Pacific’s ex-Pacific Electric line was right across the street. And the tracks saw 6-8 roundtrip trains a day 24-hours a day. And I walked the path often, but I always had enough sense even at that early age to NOT walk on the tracks, but 10-15 feet from the tracks. But that was a very different age than today, and trains were everywhere! Now, I see old, abandoned lines everywhere! Sometimes even concrete covered over lines as bike paths!
Now, about the dog and pedestrian strike … Today’s society simply does NOT think of trains. My guess is that trespasser with the dog was totally oblivious to trains. He may have even had music playing in his ears! And his unawareness cost him his life! Reminds me of a similar incident (TRAINS Newswire?), where a trespassing news reporter with music earphones on was walking on the tracks and didn’t hear the train horn blasts and was struck and killed.
ChuckCobleigh:
It is amazing what surfaces about posters that opens up! I thought you were the knowledgeable, cool average one. But, you went beyond that, and took a personal interest in the area fatalities. But it took its toll on you! And, for that I can feel for you.
A very thought-provoking concept you brought up was that the San Diego Trolleys do not have a widespread fatalities problem! I interpret that to mean people seem to be more aware and conscious of them. They have to be because trolleys are actually on the roadways with cars! Whereas, on the ex-Santa Fe line, nobody THINKS trains run out that way, except railroaders and railfans! Obviously, some of those ‘nobodies’ have had a sad, sad rude awakening!
"Union Pacific’s engineer could have stopped the train before striking Johnson if he had followed a regulation that makes locomotives bright enough to illuminate the tracks 800 feet ahead, as required by federal law"
What a crock of male bovine excrement. A freight train generally needs about a mile to stop - that's 5,280 feet. I don't care if the headlight illuminates twice as much as the alleged "requirement," the train still would not have stopped in time if the drunken idiot didn't move. Not the railroad's fault.
Quiet Zones reinforce the normal populations thought process that railroads don't run trains anymore.
xBNSFerWhat a crock of male bovine excrement. A freight train generally needs about a mile to stop - that's 5,280 feet. I don't care if the headlight illuminates twice as much as the alleged "requirement," the train still would not have stopped in time if the drunken idiot didn't move. Not the railroad's fault.
In this case, the jury made the ruling. Juries can be swayed by lawyers to make unbelievable judgments (judgements?).
This jury probably saw the deep pockets of UP.
I was on a trial jury once that wanted to award money to a girl injured in a bus accident. It was amazing to hear the thoughts of some of the jurors, who batted around the figures of hundreds of millions of dollars as if it was pocket change.
xBNSFer "Union Pacific’s engineer could have stopped the train before striking Johnson if he had followed a regulation that makes locomotives bright enough to illuminate the tracks 800 feet ahead, as required by federal law" What a crock of male bovine excrement. A freight train generally needs about a mile to stop - that's 5,280 feet. I don't care if the headlight illuminates twice as much as the alleged "requirement," the train still would not have stopped in time if the drunken idiot didn't move. Not the railroad's fault.
On our trip last Saturday, we were forewarned of a snowmobiler who had gotten his sled stuck in a switch (shouldn't have been on the tracks in the first place, but that's another story).
He was lucky on two counts. First, we were forewarned by radio of the issue. Second, the automatic protection for a crossing about 100 feet from where he got stuck had been taken out of service, requiring us to stop and flag the crossing.
We'd have been slowing for our station stop in a couple hundred yards, anyhow, but where he was stuck was on the main, and on a curve with limited visibility. Were it not for circumstances, the track speed there is 30 MPH. He'd have been picking up the pieces he could find of his sled.
As it was, he may have had to go home and change his shorts...
Please, oh please, oh please let him turn out to be an ARTA supporter...
OvermodPlease, oh please, oh please let him turn out to be an ARTA supporter...
This wasn't even on the track coveted by the sledders/ARTA. It's not going anywhere any time soon. He could have taken a different route, or just stayed off the tracks, but, no...
.
I was looking at a news report for the pedestrian vs BNSF freight train incident. Time was 11:30PM, location was D street crossing in Encinitas (adjacent to downtown and numerous bars). Time and location makes me suspect that alcohol or other mind altering substances were involved. I have not seen any followup reports on this incident.
Erik_MagI was looking at a news report for the pedestrian vs BNSF freight train incident. Time was 11:30PM, location was D street crossing in Encinitas (adjacent to downtown and numerous bars). Time and location makes me suspect that alcohol or other mind altering substances were involved. I have not seen any followup reports on this incident.
Nothing on the Medical Examiner releases page, though they seem to have a significant delay built into their process lately. Crossing has gates and lights, right south of the Encinitas Coaster station. Alcohol would be a smart money bet, given time of incident, Saturday night and all that. These late-night weekend incidents have been relatively common over the years.
So, with the landslide troubles in San Clemente halting Amtrak trains, one would expect a reduction in pedestrian fatalities on our county’s railroads. Well, over this weekend, a Sunday morning strike on the Sprinter line was the second fatality after an early-morning event Saturday on board Camp Pendleton when a BNSF freight encounterred a pedestrian.
Shaking my head once again.
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