Green Bay Paddlers wrote: This was an awful accident that may have been preventable. I'll let a judge and jury determine that. Not a bunch web forum dwellers hiding behind their monitors.
This was an awful accident that may have been preventable. I'll let a judge and jury determine that. Not a bunch web forum dwellers hiding behind their monitors.
Of course it was preventable, if the vandal was not tresspassing, he would not have been hit. Not sure why you need a jury or judge to figure that one out.
Bert
An "expensive model collector"
Excellent point!
We can sit behind our monitors and debate this.
Yes, teens can do very stupid things. When I was 14, I climbed inside of a Sliding Door boxcar parked on a siding next to SCL's Tampa to Lakeland mainline. As I tried to climb down off of it, one of my feet became temporarily wedged inside of the rail the door slides on. I fell onto the ballast below. I was very fortunate that my head didn't hit the rail on the track next to the boxcar. I limped to my bicycle and rode away. I KNEW THEN in 1977 that if I would have been seriously injured and survived.......it would have been MY FAULT, not Seaboard Coast Line. Add to that my mother would have given me the ultimate "tanning of my hide".
Not trying to be cold, but teens today in our technically advanced society, regardless of cultural background, are more acutely aware of these dangers even better than we were back then. Difference seems to be that we were held accountable and many more parents then disciplined the children instead of sueing the victim.
"I like my Pullman Standards & Budds in Stainless Steel flavors, thank you!"
Datafever wrote:Has there been any further word as to whether a lawsuit has actually been filed in this case? The last news reports that I read only mentioned that the parents were "considering" it.
Translation: They are talking to shysters that will take home 25% of the "take". Just once, I'd like to see a bereaved family say "we cannot profit financially from our son's death". But The Cubs will win the World Series, CSX will be intelligently managed, We will give Iran and North Korea what they deserve, and the Lehigh Valley will be revived, before a family is willing to follow the example of Job.
PBenham wrote: Datafever wrote:Has there been any further word as to whether a lawsuit has actually been filed in this case? The last news reports that I read only mentioned that the parents were "considering" it.Translation: They are talking to shysters that will take home 25% of the "take". Just once, I'd like to see a bereaved family say "we cannot profit financially from our son's death". But The Cubs will win the World Series, CSX will be intelligently managed, We will give Iran and North Korea what they deserve, and the Lehigh Valley will be revived, before a family is willing to follow the example of Job.
Well, don't forget the reaction of the Amish after some nut decided to go on a killing rampage at a small school.
OTOH, it is seldom that you would hear of a "oh, well, life goes on" response in the news. So even if that is the response 99% of the time, you still only hear about the 1% of "I'm going to get mine while the getting is good", which leads to a slightly skewed view of humanity.
Datafever wrote:On a slightly different note, the news articles were slightly conflicting. Some said that the train was going 45 mph, while others said that it was normal for trains to be running slightly slower than the 40 mph speed limit. Not that it would have changed the outcome, but does anyone know the facts regarding the train speed?
Interesting. Hopefully, for the railroad's sake the train was traveling within the designated speed. If it turns out that the train was exceeding its speed limit, that's just going to be more ammunition for the attorney to use.
Try as I might I cannot remember how responsible I was at the ripe old age of 13. Probably not very but if I put a foot wrong my mother certainly would punish me!
The sometimes harsh reactions have surprised me.
One other thing. This week, while listening to Dutch radio, there was a story about a programme over on the BBC. Haven't seen it. Apparently they have a show, big brother type, were they follow teenagers who want to have a baby. One of the people on the show is a boy. He took care of a baby, fed it, clothed it etc. He put it in a buggy and went out with it to his friends to visit them. One problem, when at his friends place, he left the baby in the buggy outside at the sidewalk and when this was pointed out to him he apparently had no clue what was wrong!
I feel sad because this 13 year old boy had a potential good future and deserved a chance. Somehow the warnings did not take hold. For some it probably never will. I just hope that others will learn from it.
greetings,
Marc Immeker
n012944 wrote: Green Bay Paddlers wrote: This was an awful accident that may have been preventable. I'll let a judge and jury determine that. Not a bunch web forum dwellers hiding behind their monitors. Of course it was preventable, if the vandal was not tresspassing, he would not have been hit. Not sure why you need a jury or judge to figure that one out. Bert
If you live anywhere in the NYSSR,(espically Gotham) no explanation is necessary. If you do not, no explanation is possible!
My last post on this thread. I hope it goes away.
Yesterday, mourners gathered at a funeral for Ari Kraft, a 13 year old Rego Park boy killed by an LIRR train Friday night. Kraft had been tagging signal boxes before crossing the tracks near the Forest Hills station - to rush home for Sabbath dinner - when a train bound for Huntington hit him. Newsday reports that during the funeral, "details of Kraft's death were not discussed...There was no discussion of graffiti art, which Kraft's friends have said he excelled in. Instead, he was remembered as a computer whiz whose life was cut short."
Kraft's family says they will sue the LIRR over gaps in fencing near the railroad that allowed Kraft and his friends to pass through. Kraft family friend Mena Sofer said, "It there was no hole in the fence, [Roger Kraft's] son would be alive today. The message to the children is they should be very careful. The message to the city is they should do something."
City Council transportation committee chair John Liu says that the fencing issue is pat of a "wider" maintenance issue (does that include platform gaps?), and making the matter more complicated is that the LIRR and private properties own fencing. Newsday had photographs of the open fencing where Kraft was able to sneak through; the other night, LIRR workers were working to repair the hole. The LIRR says they board up open fencing, but asked that the public contact its hotline 718-558-8228 to report gaps.
This is such a joke. If a kid runs out into traffic, how come familys don't sue states or local goverments for not fencing roads? It is a shame that the child died, however it was no fault of the railroad.
spokyone wrote: My last post on this thread. I hope it goes away.Yesterday, mourners gathered at a funeral for Ari Kraft, a 13 year old Rego Park boy killed by an LIRR train Friday night. Kraft had been tagging signal boxes before crossing the tracks near the Forest Hills station - to rush home for Sabbath dinner - when a train bound for Huntington hit him. Newsday reports that during the funeral, "details of Kraft's death were not discussed...There was no discussion of graffiti art, which Kraft's friends have said he excelled in. Instead, he was remembered as a computer whiz whose life was cut short."Kraft's family says they will sue the LIRR over gaps in fencing near the railroad that allowed Kraft and his friends to pass through. Kraft family friend Mena Sofer said, "It there was no hole in the fence, [Roger Kraft's] son would be alive today. The message to the children is they should be very careful. The message to the city is they should do something." City Council transportation committee chair John Liu says that the fencing issue is pat of a "wider" maintenance issue (does that include platform gaps?), and making the matter more complicated is that the LIRR and private properties own fencing. Newsday had photographs of the open fencing where Kraft was able to sneak through; the other night, LIRR workers were working to repair the hole. The LIRR says they board up open fencing, but asked that the public contact its hotline 718-558-8228 to report gaps.
Oh don't worry if they try to sue the railroads lawyers will eat her lunch. I've had the unfortunate experience of hitting quite a few people on a train. Usually a lawsuit is filed even if I hit a car going around lowered crossing gates! Some unscruppless lawyer will talk a greiving family into a lawsuit. I'VE NEVER HAD TO GO TO COURT! It doesn't make it that far (as long as I didn't do anything wrong while operating the locomotive and everything was working properly!).
The railroad will try to settle for some small amount just to get rid of it, but if the family persist's then they hit them with the bill to repair the equipment, pay for all employees lost time and/or overtime that was a result of the accident, recoup loss of revenue from the delay's to other trains, etc, etc...
It sucks that the kid died, it sucks worse because the other victem is the engineer and he will live with this the rest of his life. I guess he could sue LIRR, apparently that fixes everything.
The parent's action is outrageous. They're grieving but so far no word from them regarding accountability. So, if the kids had walked over to a grade crossing where there is no fence, walked along the tracks to the signal box, sprayed it, the boy still gets hit by the train would the railroad still be at fault?
I'm from New York, and I remember seeing liberal parenting in action back in the day. I was always amazed at seeing the kinds of stunts kids got away with........even after "mommy and daddy" knew about it! (bullying, vandalism, profanity towards adults, etc)
Every time I did something, I got my bottom blistered. When I became an adult I looked back and was greatful that I was disciplined in my teen years as well.
Nothing is more fairly distributed than common sense: no one thinks he needs more of it than he already has.
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