Montgomery Personal Injury Lawyer - Mass Transit (Airline, Cruise Ship, Train, Bus)

Train Hits Pickup Truck in Pennslyvania

Shannon Weidemann — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 11:33:19 GMT

A freight train hit a pickup truck that was trying to beat the train at a railway crossing. The train accident happened in Monaca, Pennslyvania last night. The driver of the truck was injured and his passenger was killed.

Meanwhile, witnesses tell us that the crossing gates were down and the train whistle was blowing when the driver tried to beat the train to the crossing.

"I saw the lights and the rail things go down, and I heard a horn blowing and the truck came around the rail things and the train just got the whole back of it," said Frances Curtis, witness. "I just saw sparks everywhere and I just started screaming, 'Oh my God, he hit it, he hit it.'

The condition of the driver has not been released. The police are investigating the accident. It is not known why the driver tried to go around the crossing gates. Names of the driver and victim have not been released.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Shannon Weidemann

Train Injures Man in West Palm Beach

Shannon Weidemann — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 08:38:41 GMT

A car crossing the railroad tracks at Riverside Drive and Alternate A1A was hit by a FEC train on Saturday. The train accident happened in West Palm Beach. The 27-year-old driver of the car was injured in the accident.

The victim

was attempting to cross west over the tracks at about 3:20 a.m., in his silver 2001 four-door Audi when it was struck by a southbound FEC train.

He is listed in critical condition at St. Mary's Hospital. The police are investigating the accident. It is unknown if there is a gate at the crossing. The intersection was closed for three hours while the scen was cleaned and the the police conducted their investigation. No charges have been filed.

If you would like to learn more about train accidents, please visit InjuryBoard's Mass Transit information page.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Shannon Weidemann

Union Station Train Accident Injures Seven

Shannon Weidemann — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 10:32:23 GMT

A train accident at Union Station in Washington D.C. involving a commuter train and an Amtrak locomotive injured seven people on Thursday. The MARC commuter train from Baltimore had just arrived and passengers were disembarking when it was struck by the locomotive.

The six-car MARC train 419 had come to a stop at its usual platform at 10:03 a.m. yesterday when an Amtrak locomotive assigned to move the train's locomotive to a maintenance facility "came in too fast" and hit the train while passengers were disembarking, according to Amtrak spokeswoman Karina Romero.
The force of the crash derailed two wheels of one of the passenger cars.

All of the injuries are reported as being minor. The train accident is being investigated by the National Transportation & Safety Board (NTSB).

If you would like to learn more about train accidents, please visit InjuryBoard's Train Accidents information page.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Shannon Weidemann

Indianapolis Train Accident Injures Two

Shannon Weidemann — Tue, 08 Jan 2008 10:18:20 GMT

A train accident in Indianapolis on Sunday morning derailed 35 train cars and injured two workers. The conductor and engineer on the train were both injured. It is believed that their injuries were not serious. The train accident happened in a rail yard on the west side of the city.

Wayne Township Fire Department Captain Troy Wymer says the accident happened early Sunday morning when 112 cars were released accidentally from the CSX yard in Avon. They then headed east on the tracks and collided with the 100-car train, which was bound for Avon from Buffalo, N.Y.

The train accident resulted in a spill of diesel fuel and soybean oil that required cleanup. No one else was injured in the accident. The accident will be investigated to find the exact cause.

If you would like to learn more about train accidents, please visit InjuryBoard's Mass Transit information page.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Shannon Weidemann

Train Kills Man in New Jersey

Shannon Weidemann — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 20:28:38 GMT

An 87-year-old man was killed while driving over a train crossing in Waterford Township, New Jersey on Tuesday. The train accident occured while the NJ Transit train was en route from Philadelphia to Atlantic City when it struck the vehicle. The man drove around the crossing gates and was trying to beat the train.

None of 62 passengers aboard the train were injured.
They were transferred to buses to complete their trip from Philadelphia to Atlantic City.

It is unknown why the man was trying to beat the train. The police are investigating the accident. The train accident happened around 12:30 p.m. at Atco Avenue.

If you would like to learn more about train accidents, please visit InjuryBoard's Train Accident information page.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Shannon Weidemann

Huntington Pedestrian Killed by Train

Shannon Weidemann — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 13:04:24 GMT

A man walking across a train crossing was struck and killed by a train on Monday morning. The train accident happened in Huntington. Crossing gates were down and signals were flashing at the time. The train was unable to stop in time.

The pedestrian, identified so far only as being male, was struck by the 11:37 a.m. train from Port Jefferson to Hicksville. The accident occurred at approximately 12:25 p.m.
Service on the branch has been temporarily suspended, railroad officials said.

The man was hit at the Lake Avenue crossing. The train accident is being investigated. It is unknown why the victim did not stop for the train.

If you would like to read more about train accidents, please visit InjuryBoard's Mass Transit information page.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Shannon Weidemann

Berkeley Pedestrian Killed by Amtrak Train

Shannon Weidemann — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 13:43:27 GMT

A man walking across some train tracks in Berkeley was killed by an Amtrak train. The train accident happened early this morning. The man was not using a marked crossing to cross the train tracks.

The California Zephyr train was headed east and was near the Berkeley Amtrak station, located at University Avenue and Third Street, at 8:12 a.m. when the accident happened, said Amtrak spokeswoman Vernae Graham. She did not know how fast the train was going.
There was no rail crossing where the person was hit, Graham said.

The accident is being investigated by the local police department and by Amtrak. The train accident tied up railway traffic for hours. It is believed that the man was talking on his cell phone at the time of the accident.

If you would like to read more about train accidents, please visit InjuryBoard's Mass Transit information page.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Shannon Weidemann

Train accidents could be avoided

Staff Writer — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 13:27:29 GMT

Two more fatal train-vehicle accidents occurred near Tampa, Florida, this week, bringing to light the dangers of railroad crossings on our nation's roadways.

The Federal Railroad Administration says that an average of two people died each day in train accidents in the United States. Many of these accidents could be avoided if people crossing train tracks would follow certain rules and exercise more caution.

Bob Martin, a spokesperson for CSX, offers the following advice:

"Look, listen and live. Look for the train, listen for the train and you'll live to see tomorrow."

Tuesday's fatal accident involving a truck crossing a railroad track in Plant City, Florida, could have been avoided if the driver had yielded to the railroad crossing sign. So many people do not realize that some railroad crossings do not have arms, so it's up to you to slow down or stop if necessary.

CSX spokesperson Bob Martin says the black and white railroad crossing sign has a meaning that many people forget after driver's education.
"It doesn't mean 'Hurry up and beat the train.' It's a traffic control device that means yield."

For more information on this subject, please refer to our section on Airline, Cruise, Bus & Other Mass Transit Accidents.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Staff Writer

Train accidents on the rise in Alabama

Staff Writer — Tue, 12 Jun 2007 13:31:29 GMT

An article from The Montgomery Advertiser addresses the problem of railroad accidents in Alabama, which have reportedly doubled over the past 10 years.

The Federal Railroad Administration released statistics that blame track issues for many of these train accidents, including drailments, collisions or obstructions on the tracks. The statistic does not include crashes involving trains and motor vehicles crossing the tracks.

The article details the following statistics:

(block quote)
"Nationally, rail accidents declined from 3,236 in 2005 to 2,834 in 2006, but FRA numbers show an increase in Alabama accidents during the past year. They went from 72 to 75. That is just part of a larger trend in which the state went from 37 accidents in 1997 to more than twice that number last year.

Alabama had 613 train accidents over the 10-year span. Most (73.6 percent) were caused by either human error or track conditions.

Track conditions are blamed for a higher percentage of train accidents now than 10 years ago. In 1997, track conditions were blamed for 11 of 37 accidents in Alabama. By 2006, that number was 39 of 75."

It seems that this problem is significant in the state of Alabama, especially in comparison with the declining number of accidents nationally.

http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070603/BUSINESS/706040334/1003

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Staff Writer

Freight train carrying space shuttle parts derails

Staff Writer — Tue, 15 May 2007 11:12:31 GMT

An Associated Press report last week says that a freight train transporting parts of the space shuttle's rocket boosters wrecked after a bridge collapsed in Myrtlewood, Alabama.

In the report, six people onboard were said to have been injured in the train accident. Investigators are still trying to determine the cause of the bridge's collapse.

NASA reported that the train derailment is not expected to delay future launches; however, they did not report on the extent of damage to the parts.

The shuttle's twin boosters are 150 feet tall and consist of four propellant segments each. They are used during liftoff and the first two minutes or so of flight to help the spacecraft break free of Earth's orbit, and are then jettisoned into the sea, after which they are recovered, refurbished and reused.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Staff Writer