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Here's the article from todays Akron Beacon journal; Posted on Fri, Oct. 21, 2005 R E L A T E D C O N T E N T Ken Love/Akron Beacon Journal Rick McPherson of the Akron Police Department monitors traffic at a crossing on West Market Street from a Wheeling & Lake Erie Railway train as part of Operation Lifesaver. R E L A T E D L I N K S • 5 killed, 18 hurt in Ohio Whistle blown on rail violators Operation Lifesaver program sounds warning on crossing dangers; police issue 11 citations By Jim Carney Beacon Journal staff writer The engineer sounded his whistle as his train approached a crossing on West Market Street on Thursday. Six vehicles still drove across the tracks. ``It's like follow the leader,'' said State Highway Patrol Sgt. Leo Shirkey, on board with other law enforcement officers to highlight the problem. ``One goes through and they all go through.'' Akron police were waiting there and at nine of the city's other crossings as part of an Operation Lifesaver program to publicize the need for safety at crossings. The Wheeling & Lake Erie Railway train went through 10 crossings from East Akron to Copley Township and the same 10 crossings on the way back. Akron police officers observed 13 violations and issued 11 citations, Lt. Rick Edwards said. ``It was frightening,'' he said, watching cars cross the tracks illegally. A total of 36 vehicle crossing violations were observed as the train, operated in conjunction with the Orrville Railroad Heritage Society, made its way across the area, said Sheldon Senek, state coordinator of the nonprofit Ohio Operation Lifesaver. Police issued 24 citations, counting the 11 in Akron, he said. Officials also saw one pedestrian cross the tracks illegally. ``The big problem is pedestrian trespass, and that is rapidly increasing in Ohio and across the nation,'' said Senek, a retired assistant superintendent of the State Highway Patrol. ``If you are walking with your back to the train, you may not hear it.'' A TV camera was mounted on the engine of the train, allowing passengers to watch cars cross illegally. Senek said it is difficult to stop a moving freight train quickly. One with 100 cars needs a mile or more to stop. ``Engineers are required to blow whistles 1,320 feet from the crossing,'' he said. A few years ago in a rural area in Central Ohio, he said, ``an entire family was extinguished'' when parents and three children were killed in an accident. Every two hours in the United States, he said, there is an accident between either a train and a vehicle or a train and a pedestrian. ``You need to be very cautious in how you approach a crossing,'' he said. ``Look and listen so you can live to go across that crossing.''
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