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The following post is from another thread: Limitedclear A Sad Day in Chester County (SC) Posted: 27 Aug 2003, 04:05:42 PM Quote Posts: 199 Joined: 12 Sep 2002 R.I.P. Brother, R.I.P. Rick One dead, one injured in separate rail incidents CHESTER, S.C. -- One man was killed and another lost three of his limbs in separate train accidents during a 12-hour span Tuesday, August 26, 2003, in Chester County, according to the Rock Hill Herald. John Scott Graves, 29, of 2358 Oxford Circle, Lancaster, died Tuesday afternoon when authorities say he was crushed between two train cars at an industrial plant. Graves was pronounced dead at 1:16 p.m. at the Chester County Hospital emergency room, Coroner Watson Wright said. He died from massive chest and internal injuries. At 12:10 a.m., Joel C. Brown, 28, of Fourth Street was struck by a train near the Saluda Street train crossing outside the Eureka Mill village. Brown lost both legs and his left arm and was flown to Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte. He also suffered serious head and internal injuries, authorities said. Tuesday night, he was in critical condition. Graves, a Lancaster & Chester Railway employee for two and a half years, was at the PPG Industries fiberglass products plant on S.C. 9 when the incident occurred at 12:34 p.m. He and some coworkers were dropping off the loaded train cars and hooking up several empty cars to a train, L&C President Steve Gedney said Tuesday. As they were picking up one empty train car, Graves was out of sight of his coworkers. As the train backed up to hook up the empty car -- a routine L&C workers perform daily -- Graves was heard yelling over his radio for the train to stop, according to Chester County Sheriff's Office reports. The train stopped, but Graves was found between the train and the empty car. "I was very shocked," said Gedney, who was informed of the fatal accident while on vacation Tuesday. "This has been very tragic. We are very upset about it ... Our sympathy goes out to the family." Gedney said the Federal Railroad Administration is conducting an investigation. He also said L & C staffers will be conducting an internal probe into the incident. It was the first fatal incident involving an L&C employee since Gedney began working there in 1990. "Railroading is a heavy-industry business," he said. "It's got risk with it. It's very non-forgiving if someone makes a mistake." Gedney described the 23 L&C employees as a "small, tight-knit group." Graves worked as a conductor, and was employed by Norfolk Southern before coming to work with L&C. Brown, who lives in the Eure-ka Mill village, was reportedly lying on the railroad tracks about 250 feet from the Saluda Street crossing on S.C. 72, said Sgt. Cathie Bell of the Chester County Sheriff's Office. The engineer of a CSX train spotted Brown about 250 feet away, and told authorities he blew the train's horn to alert him, Bell said. Brown did not respond to the horn. He was struck by the train as it traveled at slower than the 40 mph speed limit. It is not clear whether Brown fell down or whether he was intentionally lying on the tracks, Bell said. Both of Brown's legs were severed at the scene, Bell said. Brown also lost his left arm in the incident, Bell said. Brown was found unconscious after he was pushed by the train as it came to a stop. Bell said she did not know if he was intoxicated. (This item appeared in the Rock Hill Herald Aug. 27, 2003)
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