Renamed: Sigh! Moron hits train

[zardoz]

(colored highlights mine) 

Man killed after hitting train on Cemetery Road

By Peggy Breister
The Reporter [e-mail]

TOWN OF FRIENDSHIP, WI - The rural railroad crossing where a car struck a train early Sunday morning is marked only with a stop sign and "crossing ahead" sign, a Fond du Lac County Sheriff's Department official says.

The crossing at Cemetery Road in the town of Friendship where Nathan L. Novotny, 30, of Oshkosh, was killed is not marked with flashing lights or gates.

Novotny is believed to have struck the stopped Canadian National train at 2:30 a.m. Sunday, according to a Fond du Lac County Sheriff's Department report. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

His eastbound Ford Explorer passed under the train and came to rest on the east side of the tracks, said Fond du Lac County Sheriff's Department Chief Deputy Mark Strand.

The train engineer did not realize a vehicle had struck the train and the train eventually continued northbound.

A passerby saw Novotny's vehicle at 3:46 a.m. and called 911, Strand said.

The crossing is marked with a stop sign and a "railroad crossing ahead" sign.

There are no flashing lights or gates there, said Sheriff Mick Fink.

"Although it is properly marked, would it be better with flashing lights? Probably," Fink said. "Does it meet the statutory requirements as is? Yes."

Modifying crossings requires a request to the Office of the Commissioner of Railroads. An investigation is typically performed into the necessity of upgrading the crossing. If the OCR determines modifications are needed, it assesses costs for the project.
http://www.fdlreporter.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071016/FON0101/710160374/1985

==============================================================

This vehicle was travelling so fast that the SUV went under the train and ended up on the other side!!  Gee, d'ya think maybe excessive speed and/or alcohol just might possibly have been a contributing factor?? 

If this idiot had hit a bridge or streetlight, would the community demand the city do something about those menacing obsticales?

Sigh.

 

edit: screw political correctness--he was a moron, plain and simple.

[Ted Marshall]

It's just a push to signalize every grade crossing to protect every citizen, even the idiots who know that there are no signals but are too stupid not to assume that there may be a train there.

[dknelson]

It is quite obvious the guy did not stop at the stop sign, isn't it.

I do have to say, however, that one time I nearly had a close call at a rural crossing protected only by crossbucks.  A train was stopped there but I did not notice probably because the cars blocking the crossing were very low empty double stack tables.  This was before they started putting so much reflective tape on them.   Fortunately l always slow down for crossings rather than speed up like nonrailfans do.  Strange as it may seem it was not easy to see that there was a train stopped at that crossing but clearly i should have been more attentive, too.

Dave Nelson

[zardoz]

It is quite obvious the guy did not stop at the stop sign, isn't it.

I do have to say, however, that one time I nearly had a close call at a rural crossing protected only by crossbucks.  A train was stopped there but I did not notice probably because the cars blocking the crossing were very low empty double stack tables.  This was before they started putting so much reflective tape on them.   Fortunately l always slow down for crossings rather than speed up like nonrailfans do.  Strange as it may seem it was not easy to see that there was a train stopped at that crossing but clearly i should have been more attentive, too.

Dave Nelson

Agreed. 

However, as one can see in the photo accompanying the article, there is a BIG YELLOW warning sign clearly visible.  No excuses for this guy.

[zardoz]

And then there's this guy and his poor family:

Penny trick gets man killed by train

ASSOCIATED PRESS [e-mail] Article Last Updated: 10/15/2007 01:16:57 PM EDT
GREENWICH - A man trying to entertain his family by putting a penny on the tracks died after being struck by a train in Greenwich, police said.

The man had jumped onto the tracks at the Riverside Railroad Station on Sunday afternoon to place a penny on a track and show his wife and three daughters how it would be flattened by a train, police said.

Sgt. John Rizzitelli of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority says relatives were trying to help him up get back on the platform.

The Metro-North Railroad train, an express from Stamford to New York City, was traveling at about 75 mph when it struck the man. He died immediately.

Police are withholding the man's name this morning, pending notification of all of his relatives.

http://www.connpost.com/localnews/ci_7182960

========================================================

Can you even begin to image the trauma that the mother and daughters felt as they saw their husband/father getting smushed?

Years ago there were two boys playing 'chicken' in front of my passenger train (70mph).  They kept running across the tracks, stopping between the rails to give me the 'finger'.  On the final pass in front of me, one of the boys tripped on the rail and landed between the rails.  His body flew almost 100' from the impact. His friend got a ring-side view of the incident.  Years later, he was still traumatized by the event.

[zardoz]

And this (highlights mine):

HAMMOND | A Hammond couple is suing Norfolk Southern Corp. because one of the company's freight trains smashed into their car at a street crossing.

Linda and Esteban Gonzales claim that Norfolk Southern was negligently operating a train at 5:20 a.m. Oct. 27, 2005, causing the crash at the railroad's 169th Street crossing near Purdue University Calumet.

Norfolk Southern spokesman Rudy Husband said company policy does not allow him to comment on ongoing lawsuits such as the one filed by the Gonzales couple on Oct. 2 in Hammond federal court. The lawsuit seeks more than $75,000 in damages.

The Gonzales couple claim the train was travelling too fast, that it did not use its warning signal or a bright enough headlight and that the intersection should have been outfitted with blinker lights or warning gates.

A 2004 federal report states that about 23 trains went over the crossing every day, often travelling between 54 and 60 mph.

Railroad activity has been steadily increasing across the nation, and Chicago is the nation's busiest rail hub, with 75 percent of the $350 billion in daily freight passing through its city limits, the Federal Railroad Administration states.

Federal statistics show that at least four cars already have been hit by trains in Hammond this year, including a Sept. 1 CSX crash at Johnson Avenue that killed two children and their mother.

A video of the collision with the CSX train showed the mother trying to outrun an eastbound train in her minivan and getting hit by two trains.

http://www.nwitimes.com/articles/2007/10/12/news/top_news/doc072bfdbbcbaed665862573720007cc01.txt

 

[bnsfkline]

It's just a push to signalize every grade crossing to protect every citizen, even the idiots who know that there are no signals but are too stupid not to assume that there may be a train there.

 

Even when that does happen, they will just start something else. Its the way people are, they just HAVE to blame the railroads for something....like that couple who sued the railroad out in California, saying "We didn't know the tracks were there when we bought the house" Of course, that was the Cajon Sub

[Anonymous]

Raise the entire railroad 30 feet or bury it entirely with fenced in vent fans every so often. It will be very difficult then for idiots to dig or climb to thier death.

[mudchicken]

Pass the hat, build a bridge. (betcha they won't want to pay for it.)

[TimChgo9]

..........His eastbound Ford Explorer passed under the train and came to rest on the east side of the tracks, said Fond du Lac County Sheriff's Department Chief Deputy Mark Strand.

How fast was he going?? It is a tight fit under just about any train car, right?  Isn't their less clearance under a box car, or tank car than a semi-trailer on the road?  Just watching a train go by now, and it seems, that in order to go underneath and come out the other side, one must be going at a good clip. 

In addition.....I wonder if the guy ducked?  If not, I don't even want to contemplate..... 

 

Linda and Esteban Gonzales claim that Norfolk Southern was negligently operating a train at 5:20 a.m. Oct. 27, 2005, causing the crash at the railroad's 169th Street crossing near Purdue University Calumet.

Norfolk Southern spokesman Rudy Husband said company policy does not allow him to comment on ongoing lawsuits such as the one filed by the Gonzales couple on Oct. 2 in Hammond federal court. The lawsuit seeks more than $75,000 in damages.

The Gonzales couple claim the train was travelling too fast, that it did not use its warning signal or a bright enough headlight and that the intersection should have been outfitted with blinker lights or warning gates.

 

This one is just aggravating.  Just a couple of people trying to "hit the lottery" by suing a corporate giant because they are stupid. 

 

Lights, gates.....whatever, won't stop the idiots.  Fences would be an eyesore, and underpasses prohibitively expensive if every crossing were to be put under, or over the tracks. 

How about a gate system that bars the crossing totally?  Certainly there has to be some method by which a sliding gate of some kind can move across the entire crossing, sidewalks and all.  It probably has been thought about, but never used due, most likely, to the expense. 

One more question:  How often do railroads lose these types of lawsuits?  Are they even winnable by the plaintiff?  Just wondering.

[eolafan]

Sigh is right, once again we have confirmation that STUPID DOES AS STUPID IS.

[Ted Marshall]

One more question:  How often do railroads lose these types of lawsuits?  Are they even winnable by the plaintiff?  Just wondering.

Let's put it this way...In these types of cases, there are no winners, only losers. Railroads have some of the very best lawyers money can buy and they're not afraid to defend against these types of money hungry, gold digging people, motived only by greed and/or what they see as opportunity, just lusting for a windfall jackpot.

Unfortunately, most rail companies will usually settle out of court to avoid bad publicity in the eyes of the public-at-large. It seems to me that this is more cost-effective to them than dragging out such cases to trial or making the improvements that are being called for.

[BaltACD]

One more idiot that won't have the opportunity to die again.

[Semper Vaporo]

One more question:  How often do railroads lose these types of lawsuits?  Are they even winnable by the plaintiff?  Just wondering.

Let's put it this way...In these types of cases, there are no winners, only losers. Railroads have some of the very best lawyers money can buy and they're not afraid to defend against these types of money hungry, gold digging people, motived only by greed and/or what they see as opportunity, just lusting for a windfall jackpot.

Unfortunately, most rail companies will usually settle out of court to avoid bad publicity in the eyes of the public-at-large. It seems to me that this is more cost-effective to them than dragging out such cases to trial or making the improvements that are being called for.

Maybe if the RR's got less expensive lawyers they could afford to fight these cases in court?

 

[ShopsYardMaster]

I'm very familiar with that crossing, along with 2 others, that CN regularly block coming into and leaving Shops Yard.

This
will definitely push forward the need for an overpass at Lakeshore
Drive, next to the yard office. The only other alternative is to go
back to FDL and cross at Scott St., or go all the way to Van Dyne and
cross over the viaduct.

Now the state has to get their act
together as far as budgetting for the overpass. The local townships,
city, and village, along with CN, are supposed to pony up for it, also.
But it really only benefits the people who live along Hwy. 45 who are
trying to get into/out of NFDL . That's been the problem since Soo Line
days, just really not enough traffic to warrant it.

[Poppa_Zit]

I read the original story in the first post, but failed to see where the community "wants something done". The town meeting is about blocked crossings and inconvenienced motorists.

Okay. Maybe CN oughta think about moving its operations to somewhere less hostile and take all those jobs with it. 

[Soo 6604]

This vehicle was travelling so fast that the SUV went under the train and ended up on the other side!! 

I see the the SUV had a mind of its own. Didn't the driver drive the SUV under the train? But anyways I can't remember the train number that the driver hit but my Dad was at Neenah Sunday morning and he said that the train didn't stop until Neenah (Engineer and Conductor didnt know someone hit them) and that the Vehicle went under a tank car. The train was parked on the main where the cops and others were taking parts and pieces off of the tanker. The tanker was set out along with a boxcar before it and after it. Any reason why they would do that? I might just have answered myself but would it possibly be not to disturb the car in question?

Paul

[jimrice4449]

In regards to the original post the operable factor here is 230AM.   I don't know this for a fact, but somehow I believe the closing times for bars in Wi might be 200AM.

[zardoz]

It just continues....

 

Man Texting While Driving Hits Train

Oct 16, 10:46 PM (ET)
EUGENE, Ore. (AP) - When Robert Gillespie looked up from his text message, he saw a freight train. EOM. ("End of message," that is, for non-texters.) Eugene police say Gillespie's car crashed into the side of the Union Pacific freight train about 2 a.m. Tuesday.

When officers arrived, they found him alert and talking, but trapped in the car. They learned about the cell phone and text message as they worked to rescue him.

Gillespie, who had turned 38 the day before, was charged with drunken driving and careless driving, police spokeswoman Kerry Delf said. His injuries were described as not life threatening, and no members of the train crew were hurt.

Delf said officers believe he was driving faster than the 35 mph speed limit as well as using his cell phone to send a text message. She said he tried to brake for the train, but it was too close.

"There are all kinds of ways to get distracted these days," said police spokeswoman Kerry Delf. "We don't recommend any of them while you're driving."

http://apnews.myway.com//article/20071017/D8SANFRO0.html

 

[zardoz]

I read the original story in the first post, but failed to see where the community "wants something done". The town meeting is about blocked crossings and inconvenienced motorists.

You are correct; I did not title this thread properly.

[wabash1]

This vehicle was travelling so fast that the SUV went under the train and ended up on the other side!! 

I see the the SUV had a mind of its own. Didn't the driver drive the SUV under the train? But anyways I can't remember the train number that the driver hit but my Dad was at Neenah Sunday morning and he said that the train didn't stop until Neenah (Engineer and Conductor didnt know someone hit them) and that the Vehicle went under a tank car. The train was parked on the main where the cops and others were taking parts and pieces off of the tanker. The tanker was set out along with a boxcar before it and after it. Any reason why they would do that? I might just have answered myself but would it possibly be not to disturb the car in question?

Paul

The main reason for the cars on each end of the tanker to be set out is for the hand brakes. 

[fuzzybroken]

"There are all kinds of ways to get distracted these days," said police spokeswoman Kerry Delf. "We don't recommend any of them while you're driving."

Ha! Very true, however...
 

[Ishmael]

It is quite obvious the guy did not stop at the stop sign, isn't it.

I do have to say, however, that one time I nearly had a close call at a rural crossing protected only by crossbucks.  A train was stopped there but I did not notice probably because the cars blocking the crossing were very low empty double stack tables.  This was before they started putting so much reflective tape on them.   Fortunately l always slow down for crossings rather than speed up like nonrailfans do.  Strange as it may seem it was not easy to see that there was a train stopped at that crossing but clearly i should have been more attentive, too.

Dave Nelson

Agreed. 

However, as one can see in the photo accompanying the article, there is a BIG YELLOW warning sign clearly visible.  No excuses for this guy.

In the early 60's, Northwestern University Traffic Institute published a study, in which one of their findings was that a stop sign placed on a crossbuck post was more likely to slow a driver down, because it was more familiar to the motorist. Of course, things have changed sinced the sixties, but I would say this crossing is well marked, including the yellow sign.

This does not factor in driving while drunk, speeding, and not seeing a stopped train. I'd like to see the Police report to see if any of the above are evident.

[spokyone]

Yesterday in Rathdrum ID, a lady stopped at the stop sign at the grade crossing. Then she drove right into the path  of the train. A cop saw it happen because he was there to cite motorists that run the stop sign. He said she must not have seen the train coming. She survived.

[K&ARailfan]

If the community wants something done, why don't they get rid of Speeding, Cell Phone using Drunks?  

[corwinda]

The train was parked on the main where the cops and others were taking parts and pieces off of the tanker. The tanker was set out along with a boxcar before it and after it. Any reason why they would do that? I might just have answered myself but would it possibly be not to disturb the car in question?

Paul

 Could the car after it have picked up some debris from the crash? Or perhaps the tank car's brake rigging was damaged (ie hand brakes inoperable) and the adjacent cars were needed to keep it safely parked.

[Anonymous]

The FRA says freight trains are hard to see at night, and this is the reason motorists run into them.

[K&ARailfan]

Yes they are, but the point is that you should slow down and look both ways at a crossing, especially if it's unmarked. The person that ran through it shouldn't have driven at excessive speeds, and they payed the price....

[Mr_Ash]

They should do 2 things...

Plase a "severe tire damage" sign on the gates and or crossing post

Have a set of tire spikes raise up when the crossing signal is activated so anyone going around the gates gets 4 flat tires

Ofcorse then we would just see more storys in the news about stranded motorists on crossings with 4 flat tires getting hit by trains

People are stupid, Its called natural selection

[n012944]

The FRA says freight trains are hard to see at night, and this is the reason motorists run into them.

I am sure the reflective stop sign at the crossing was hard to see also.