Amtrak train collides with pickup in Thurston Co.; 4 injured
TENINO, Wash. - The Washington State Patrol says the occupants of a pickup truck are lucky to be alive after colliding with an Amtrak train going nearly 80 mph at a crossing in Tenino in Thurston County.
The pickup, with four people inside, was sideswiped by the train and knocked on its side Saturday afternoon at a rural crossing near the town of Tenino, Thurston County officials said.
All four of the passengers - two adults and two children - were taken to a local hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.
Deputies and state troopers responded to the scene, a railroad crossing near McDuff Road, after receiving a report about the crash, said Lt. Greg Elwin of the Thurston County Sheriff's Office.
He said the pickup apparently was trying to turn around in a private drive at the railroad crossing as the Amtrak train was approaching. The train was unable to stop. It sideswiped the vehicle, knocking it over onto its side.
Rescue personnel arrived on scene and were able to get the passengers out of the vehicle. They were taken by ambulance to the hospital.
Amtrak service is disrupted as a result of the accident, but officials were unable to say for how long.
The pickup, with four people inside, was sideswiped by the train and knocked on its side Saturday afternoon at a rural crossing near the town of Tenino, Thurston County officials said.
All four of the passengers - two adults and two children - were taken to a local hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.
Deputies and state troopers responded to the scene, a railroad crossing near McDuff Road, after receiving a report about the crash, said Lt. Greg Elwin of the Thurston County Sheriff's Office.
He said the pickup apparently was trying to turn around in a private drive at the railroad crossing as the Amtrak train was approaching. The train was unable to stop. It sideswiped the vehicle, knocking it over onto its side.
Rescue personnel arrived on scene and were able to get the passengers out of the vehicle. They were taken by ambulance to the hospital.
Amtrak service is disrupted as a result of the accident, but officials were unable to say for how long.
My <a href="http://theprejeancompany.com">accounting</a> has been buzzing with this story. I agree that with any maintained track you need to be careful. I would understand this more if it were on a track that was old and run down. People just need to be more aware of their surroundings.
1. Amtrak has video of this --- a public paid for thing ---Where is the video???
2. The train had a event recorder of brakes,lights, horns, etc...public paid for with humongous overcharges---Where are the event recorder readings???
3. The crossing signal housing has a event recorder with gate operation ---.public paid for with humongous overcharges---Where is the crossing house readings?
4. The crossing maintainer has a hand held that would show if the automated signals were calling him/her to come fix them. Where is the hand held???
5. The drug/alcohol screenings on the train crew are?
When there are railroads tracks that are maintained, Â you can bet there will be a train. Â Trains can't stop to easily.
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My oh my!!
 @None """Trains can't stop to easily.""" So why aren't the trains grounded until they get fixed?
The rail road owns the property and allows others to cross their property at their own risk. Its been that way since the beginning of railroading. A city street/or a driveway is not city/private property at a crossing, its railroad property and they are allowing you to cross at your own risk which is a lot more neighborly then I would be at excercising my property rights. They have no responsibility to you while you screw up on their property and they will likely have that driver paying for the scratches on the front of that locomotive.
 @T_BONE_WALKER Actually the railroads claim adjuster with a railroad cop illegally tagging along for a witness will contact the victims with the "we don't know what happened---hint suicide if the victims are dead---here let us write you a check"
10 years later if the peoples lawyer has the resources to hold out 10 years and doesn't settle for a fraction of the real settlement should be a jury will see the railroad knew exactly what happened because they have been sued 1,000s of times for being greedy bottom dwellers running on greed.
How much a year UP rip the tax payers for Amtrak to run through here? It's their rental property not being maintained.Â
@Jon Brawn The government gave that property to the railroad long before anything was here and only after resisting allowing people on their property at all, the railroad relented to allow for roads and access at your own risk and only when safe. When you get hit by a train, you've forfeited any recourse because you were doing what was never the intent of the stipulation because you were not crossing safely. The railroad could never exist if it were exposed to the liabilities of the stupidity of the general public being exposed to the nature of the railroad environment.
 @T_BONE_WALKER  @Jon So BNSF gave my kids $375,000 out of the kindness of their heart? Where do the railroads get their hired guns and clueless foamers anyhow?
TENINO: Woman bruised by Amtrak trainTHE OLYMPIAN ⢠Published April 11, 2010A 19-year-old Tenino woman escaped serious injuries after being clipped by an Amtrak train near the 15000 block of McDuff Road about 11:30 a.m. Tuesday. Tenino Police Chief Sean Gallagher said the train was headed south at about 70 miles per hour when it brushed the woman, who was walking along the southbound rail north of Teninoâs city limits. She suffered heavy bruising and was transferred to an Olympia hospital, but was released hours later. Gallagher said the woman heard the train but didnât expect it to be coming from behind her. Read more here: http://www.theolympian.com/2010/04/11/1202332/tenino-woman-bruised-by-amtrak.html#storylink=cpy
 @Jon Brawn Biggest moral of that story dont trespass
Wow!! (to say the least) I am so thankful that everyone will LIVE!!! Amtrak trains are incredibly fast and it just shows how trying to back up, turn around or whatever near railroad tracks can prove incredibly sketchy. Don't gamble your lives people!
So for the record, the private driveway that the truck got hit, is my driveway. It is the ONLY access to our house. The original house was a homestead back in the Oregon Trail days. The RR company (BN, SF, UP, NP, Milwaukee Road) got an easment from UL and Pattie Collins on August 6th 1890. That would be about 122 years ago. We have owed the property since 1972 and never had an issue with trains because we used common sense and are careful when crossing the tracks. The "blind spot" people are claiming is not that "blind". if you come from McDuff Rd onto our driveway it is clear looking both ways. Now leaving our driveway, looking right (drving normally) visbility is limited, but if you are stopped at the stop sign, LOOK to the right and then go, even if you see the train it is far enough away to cross it before the train gets there. For those who are saying that trains don't blow their whistle at private crossing, they are lying. I have live there 40 years and every train that I have seen pass (both freight and passenger) has blown their whistle prior to passing the crossing. Regarding the comments about the owner petitioning a signal, we have not done that. What is happing is that since they put in a new signal for the trains just south of Tenino, our driveway is getting blocked more frequently. Now from 1972 to 2010, I can count on 1 hand the number of times the train has blocked our driveway. Since then in over the course of 2 years, there has been at least 60 times the train has blocked our driveway. The time ranges anywhere from 10 min to up to 6 hrs. So I complained about this. Now we are in negotiations with BNSF. They want to close it. I am telling them it is my only access. We came up with a solution. to put the driveway going down to Morningside Drive. But they (BNSF) wants to cut a check and make me contract out the work and then once it was bulit they would close it. I told them that since there is a creek that floods every year, I would still need access incase it floods and I can't get out. I have got Congresswomen Jamie Herrera Beutler involed in this matter. Well it is going to take a lot of money to get a driveway in. The driveway is also used for when I log timber. The Tenino police uses it to qualify their shooters, we have a group of people who shoot clay piegons come out and camp/shoot on our property 3 times a year. In every instance, none of them has gotten hit by a train.
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Now I am glad that they survived this, but I am pretty sure this won't sit well in me trying to keep my crossing.
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Backing up out of my driveway is just plain dumb. I have plenty of room to turn around. The video footage doesn't look good for the driver of the vehilce. For those who will claim the RR will doctor it, good luck with that.
 @cards5 Great post. In the words of the late great Paul Harvey, now we know the rest of the story. Best of luck in your fight with the railroad.
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I think there is only one that thinks the video will be doctored. After reading his posts I'm starting to think he sees black helicopters everyday.
@cards5 Thank you for shedding some insight into this story. I think you're personal story should be getting as much attention as the story of the unfortunate accident.Â
Google mapping ---15500 block of McDuff Rd. SE in Tenino--- It looks like a pretty nasty drop off on the house side of the tracks. The map even has a train right within a few hundred yards there and track signals maybe 300 feet away only seen by satellite. The train was going north according to the railroad report to NRC. A 79 mph train (80 mph is considered high speed rail) (79 x 1.444 =) would be going  114 feet per second. The mickey mouse traffic signs put there by the railroad mean nothing legally and there were no train whistles till the last second at private crossings. You don't need a drivers lisence on private property and state driving statutes mean nothing.
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So the truck backing up (No laws against it) would of had the driver away from the train coming with the vehicle all caddy whompus from the humped crossing---looking through three passengers, window posts, outside mirrors, dirty windows, sun glare, dust, haze, rain, whatever spinning tires on the gravel hump.Â
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Did the train brake? Looking where the vehicle was hit like .25 seconds later the truck would have cleared without being hit. Bet BNSF is doctoring the evidence OUR cops let them get off with right now.
@Jon Brawn So you looked at Google Maps and arrived at all of this fascinating insight. Amazing....
 @MysteryMan  @Jon More ---the crossing on the other side of town that was closed had stolen signals after the railroad raped the tax payers for land for the rail trail that they never paid for.
 @Jon Brawn Hard to make it up when you can watch the video with audio :) I think cards5 disproves everything you said...for the most part...he owns the property.
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1MPH = 1.46667fps - so it was actually 115fps (rounded). Being the horn warning signs are 1500ft from a crossing this leaves around 13 seconds from the first horn. In fact, the first horn was sounded BEFORE the train saw the truck on the tracks!
 @K00lGuy Sorry numb knats ---Federal law requires 20 seconds warning at PUBLIC crossings. More time for wider crossings. crossings.iki/Whistle_posthttp://www.fra.dot.gov/downloads/rrdev/LocoHornsDEIS.pdfThe railroads must place whistle boards or posts at a distance from the crossingequal to the distance traveled by a train in 20 seconds while operating at themaximum speed allowed for any train operating on the track in that direction ofmovement.WASHINGTON It is unlawful in the State of Washington to fail to ring a bell or sound a whistle upon approaching a crossing from at least eighty rods (1,320 feet or 440 yards), except in cities.Â
@Jon Brawn Wow if going 80 MPH is blurry then you need to turn in your driver license buddy. I have gone 145 MPH on the Autobahn in Germany and my vision was clear as day. this accident was at 1400 hrs (2pm) and there was no rain fog haze buddy. I know you were not there so stop trolling. Sounds like you had some anger/daddy issues.
 @cards5 The bus driver and paper boy don't drive like their tails are on fire is probably how they find where there going. So this was a rookie train driver?  I know when I'm going 79 mph through the woods everything gets blurry. Especially at night ---in the rain---fog--haze. There were no train horns and your a foamer.
 @Jon Brawn  @K00lGuy So how does a school bus driver knows when to stop and pick up kids? how does a paperboy boy know where to deliver the newspaper? its called a route numb nuts Jon. Trains run the same route over and over again they know where the crossings are. Please do tell me you didn't get yer diploma from a crackerjack box?
 @cards5  @K00lGuy I would wager that there are no whistle posts so how is the horn blown ---Oh I know the train crew comes along and goes "well there's numb knats cards5 shanty better toot.""
 @Jon Brawn  @K00lGuy Uh the train goes through the city limits of Tenino and 440 yards is 1 and a half football field length (goal line to goal line) I am willing to wager that when the train 1st blew its horn it was more than 2 football field lengths away. Like K00lGuy said it is a private driveway.
 @Jon Brawn Sorry you feel the need to call me names, but it is not a PUBLIC crossing. This is a private driveway to a single house.
Stop, Look and Listen! What's so hard about that? It's not like the train jumps the track and hunts you down. You can argue nits all day long, but in the end, the truck was in the wrong place.
That private crossing just north of McDuff has been there for 120 years? I must be real old then. Blind corner on a train track? Like a 90 degree turn?  Yeah, right.
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Driver should have been much more careful, especially with children in the car.
People: NEVER take chances with a train. It will always win. These people are insanely lucky to be alive.
 @dancingnights999 People INSIST on crossing warning signals. Warren Buffett owner of BNSF has $50 billion sitting in the bank needing to be used while there trains are killing injuring KIDS!!!  http://www.fra.dot.gov/downloads/safety/grxing_summary.pdf page 11. Let's see. Like 80% of the passive collisions would be eliminated with lights and gates per our government. The other 20%---failed signals---Railroad faultshort timed signals ---railroad fault  vehicles stalled---railroad fault (no video equipment} vehicles hung up on the humps---railroad faultthe second train blocking the view of the moving train---railroad fault for not staggering trainsicy unattended approaches-- railroad faultsun glare blocked out signals---railroad fault (signals and trains lighting sucks}  failed vehicle brakes--- No fault either waydriver medical problems --no fault either way---driver accidentally hits accelerator---no fault either way vehicle is rear ended and knocked onto crossing ---railroads fault (the approaches suck) FACTS a real Operation Lifesaver would be stating instead of downplaying gate importance.Civilians ran down like dogs ---Railroads fault . No lookouts ---video equipment.Â
For National Response Center (cover up go team)
http://www.nrc.uscg.mil/Go to sercicesHit: query/downloadHit: Query standard reportsGo to : incident date range and enter last couple days.Go to incident type and put in Railroad Hit: SUBMIT QUERY
Who inventoried this whole line showing Congress ALL over/under pass crossings and why aren't they in jail? A pedestrian was hit here in 2010.
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http://www.nrc.uscg.mil/reports/rwservlet?standard_web+inc_seq=1019274Railroad Milepost: 42.7http://www.nrc.uscg.mil/reports/rwservlet?standard_web+inc_seq=1019284Railroad Milepost: 242.5085781URailroad Milepost: 004243http://www.fra.dot.gov/Downloads/RRDev/grade_crossing_inv_northwest.pdfNorthwest High Speed Rail Corridor Grade Crossing Inventory085781UData for Grade Crossing Inventory current as of 7-1-2004Source: US DOT National Highway Railroad Grade Crossing Inventory
I love this story. "Train collides with pickup". Lets see did the train jump the tracks and chase these poor people down? Or did it lay a new set of tracks and go after it? The damn story should have read "Some Dumb Idiot tried to beat a train". Guess what trains are bigger and at 80 they can snuff out your lights in a heart beat. This driver was lucky to have survived. Turn down the stereo, open a window and LISTEN for the damn thing. You might, just might live to see another day.Â
This is to everyone who is making quick judgements on the driver. I live right next to the tracks where it happened. First, I know the family who lives down that driveway. There is a blind corner right there and there is no warning signals nor do they have to blow their horn. A train coming around that corner at 80mph doesn't give you a lot of time. The truck was delivering phone books and respecting the homeowners, they chose not to turn around in their grass, so he backed out not knowing about the dangerouse corner. Thankfully they thought fast and the train got the bed and tossed the cab. I also know the owners have petitioned to have some sort of warning signal, even if it's a single light cause it's such a bad corner. These people are very, very lucky to still be here, so please be respectful and think about the comments your making before you know all the facts.
 @none1 You can make all the excuses you want for this driver, but the simple fact he did not turn down the stereo, take the ear buds out for his ipod and he probably didn't listen with the window open. Trains blow for crossings. It's the law. Two longs a short and a long. Luck was the only thing they had going for the because the drive must have let his brains at home.
 @none1 uh actually they do have to blow their horn. Which they did. There is audio/video of this. Not sure where u are getting your info because we never petition for a signal light. BNSF is trying to shut down that crossing which is our only access. The original home was a homestead back in the Oregon Trail days. This crossing has been here for about 130 years. I have live here for 40 years and this is a 1st. Trying to put in an alternate driveway down the other side of my hill but there are "environmental issues" there is a seasonal creek nearby.
 @none1 First off, the train is required to blow their horn, of which they did. One house lives off this access, why do they need a special warning device. If you start across the two sets of tracks and do not see a train, you will make it. There is a blind corner, but it is not right there....the corner is several hundred yards away. There was some sort of hesitation on the part of the driver. Thankfully he did enough to save the lives of four people.
 @none1 unfortunately for the homeowners, the railroads have more power than god. They also posses a litany of federal statutes that will allow them to sue the livelyhood out of anyone who poses even the slightest irritation.
@Mesh Tell me about it. They have been trying for 2 years now. Maybe now they will listen. All we can do is hope.
 @none1  @Mesh Its sad, but the facts are there if you care to google them.
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 Only the railroads can sue a victim and win 10 times out of 10.
When you go to downtown Edmunds, Â there is always some car or truck trying to cross when they bells and flashing lights start to go off, just before the gates come down. Â These are most likely the same people that are tailgators and switching lanes without signaling. Â
 @None That's because the antique crossing lights with no pre-warning are illegally used. You are the one too when going 30/40/50 mph on the approach and the first light is right in your face.
Looks like the train might be a little late just this one time...
The law of natural selection still works!
 @Socialjusticeforall Lame... very lame. Not very original either. It appears as though your brain pool has no deep end.
Not the best driver out there apparently. Only the most uninformed would consider turning around on/near the tracks. Trains can't steer/swerve at all, and realistically they ALWAYS have the right-of-way. Common sense says to keep eyes open and be careful around the tracks. Lucky people, wholly in the wrong here, I see it like cutting of a big rig on the road. Just Don't Do It.
Things a REAL railroad Operation Lifesaver (OL) group would ask!!!1. Why are all OL directors handpuppets of the railroad or government only giving lip service safety messages?2. Why nothing is ever mentioned by OL that would cost the railroads a penny on the obviously missing safety equipment and track maintenance work?3. Where are the crossing safety signals for the trains going too fast with  no brakes or steering at 1,000s of crossings?4. Where are the track video monitors for the trains going too fast with  no brakes or steering to get the train stopped IN TIME?5. Why aren't railroads paying at least half for crossing signals because it's their trains going too fast with  no brakes or steering while paying the so-called RR directors millions a year.6. Why the crossing humps trapping big trucks aren't required to be removed?7. Why the crossing surfaces aren't wider where if a vehicle fish tails on slick road and is trapped at the edge of the crossing surface trap?8. Why the train cabs aren't required to be lit up like a Christmas tree with emergency vehicle light bars?  LOOK AND SEE!!9. Why the front of trains aren't required to have air bags or something to soften impacts?10. Why trains don't have better braking systems? OLIs message now shows train brakes obviously suck.11. Why there are no bidding invitations on the obviously overcharged crossing projects the tax-payers pay the railroads for. $10,000 just to get the equipment to the sight. TRUCKED IN.12. Why trains are allowed to run in the fog?13. Why the crossings aren't lit up so drivers can see the black rail cars across the tracks at night?14. Why railroads remove and steal signals we paid for on closed re-worked crossings?15. Why $$$millions$$$ of the rail safety budget we pay in is wasted on needless reworks at crossings preventing signals where needed?16. Why the railroad isn't required to de-ice crossings before they roll the trains?17. Why the railroad isn't required to raise their overpasses so big trucks can get under them? The railroad wants to double stack and our road overpasses are too low---no problem WE PAY MILLIONS.18. Why drug/alcohol tests aren't done on rail crews at crossing/pedestrian collisions?19. Why railroads are allowed to get off with the train black box , signal black box (if crossing signals are present), and cab video at crossing/pedestrian collisions?20. Why the fact is hidden that trains kill a few thousand people in 100 million train miles when regular drivers have like ONE death?
#21 ---Why Amtrak passengers aren't required to look at the despicable shape of the crossings before they board the trains?
#22 --- Why train horns aren't blown at private crossings till the last second freezing drivers?
#23 --- Why the railroads track lights can't be at a crossing?
#24 ---Why railroads need track lights and civilians don't?
WAITING FOR OLI/OLI.CA response.
@Jon Brawn 1. Something's working. 2. It's not OL's responsibility It's the government that regulates the railroad safety equipment. Vote. 3. Facts please? Do you use a radar gun or something? 4. Trains have brakes. Of course there's no steering. You make it sound like that's wierd or something. 5. Ask your representatives in Washington DC. about who should pay for those things. What do you want us to do about it? 6. I guarantee you that in the VAST majority of cases the railroad track was there before the road, and they sure as heck were before the semi's were. Maybe the trucks should pay to have the roads made to accommodate them? 7. ??? 8. Every light they add to a locomotive is just one more thing that the FRA can nail them on when it burns out. Of course, three GIANT HIGH BEAM LIGHTS are probably hard to see in the dark. Oye. 9. Uh, have you ever asked anyone if they even would work or help? Maybe they should put them on airplanes too? 10. They are working on a variety of breaking technologies as well as operating changes. ECP. DPU. PTC. It costs a lot of money, it requires years of testing, and it needs to be retrofitted to 20,000+ locomotives and hundreds of thousands of freight cars that interchange across tens of thousands of miles of track that operate in all conditions with constantly changing train dynamics and make ups. Just an FYI. 11. Nothing is free. I've seen freight charges a number of times and for even simple deliveries it can get very expensive. And do you expect the railroad to block the mainline and hold up Amrak just so they can deliver some signal equipment by TRAIN to the crossing? Again, nothing is free. 12. Are you serious? Cars and trucks and planes and boats run in the fog. But hey, let's shut down freight transport in the puget sound for a week at a time when we get socked in. 13. The "black rail cars" have reflective tape on the side of them. Every single freight car and locomotive has it. If your lights are on and you are driving towards a train, you'll see it. The problem comes in if your eyes aren't open, if you are focused on your cellphone, or you are drunk. Those situations likely account for the vast majority of car-train collisions at night. 14. Versus....? 15. And you are...? 16. Are you for real? You want to drive your car across their tracks, AND you want them to pay for it? Why don't YOU get your butt out of your K car and shovel the darn crossing yourself? I think they'd say "Build a bridge if you don't like it." 17. Which overpasses are too low? Who wanted the overpass put in to begin with? Instead of you or me paying, why not make the TRUCKS pay? The fact of the matter is, raising clearances for the railroads allowing double stacked containers has kept shipping more affordable than it otherwise would be. 18. Well, if they have a camera/event recorder in the cab, which most locomotives do, then they already know what the train was doing. Oh, and the fact that the car was in the crossing or the kid was walking on the tracks listening to his iPod are also reasons why they might choose to forego such things, if that's in fact the case. Again, trains don't usually chase down people. 19. I have no idea. 20. When a car hits a car, the occupants generally survive. When a train hits a car (or pedestrian), it is much more likely to result in death. A five year old could explain why. However - and not to belabor the point - the trains don't chase people down. A car trying to beat a train, a truck that takes to long to clear a crossing, a person walking on the tracks, an individual looking to take their own life - these are going to result in injuries and quite often deaths but that doesn't mean that the railroads are at fault. 21. Huh? 22. I've seen trains blow at private crossing countless times - what are you talking about? 23. Huh? 24. Huh? What do you mean by "track lights". Is this industry lingo or are you reading them out of someone's manifesto?Â
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For the record, I have no affiliation (or real interest) in what OL does. The vast majority of deaths and injuries - IMHO - are preventable if people would exercise judgment and caution by the tracks, stop committing suicide by train, and stop using the right-of-way as their own personal trail.Â
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BACK TO THE STORY: I'm thrilled for them that they weren't more seriously injured/killed. It sounds like they were too close for comfort and got nailed. Why it needs to be made into a 24 point discertation on the evils of trains is beyond me, but everyone has a hobby I guess.Â
 @AuburnGuy  @Jon Your obviously some kind of clueless railroad head. Most normal people don't think the government would allow a death trap like this one.
 @Jon Brawn  @AuburnGuy Like alcohol and cigarettes? Most of the normal people posting on this seem to be ok with common sense and a little caution.Â
 @AuburnGuy  @Jon Well said AuburnGuy!
 @Jon Brawn The railroads are simply held to a different standard as we as a nation could not survive one day without them.
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@Jon Brawn
Train crossing deaths have declined steadily since 1980 for a variety reasons. http://www.angelsontrack.org/cts/ctsfacts.html Why dont people use a little caution, common sense and obey the laws of man and nature around railroad crossings.
 @jds_55 The Angels on Track people won enough from the bottom dwelling railroads to go for the railroad juggler but didn't.
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Laws of nature pretty much show the idiot running the train was going too fast with no brakes/steering/track look outs/ video/. Hiding under the government word f--- term private crossing. 100s of passengers are considered???
 @jds_55 Actually a corrupt US Supreme Court word f---ed it many decades ago in the name of interstate commerce like COAL is going to rot a 20 mph.
 @Jon Brawn The reasons you give are exactly why trains have the right of way by law. I dont need or want the government protecting me from the big bad railroads any more than I want spoon laws to protect from fast food chains. Exactly how many passengers on the train were injured. Like looking both ways before you cross the street a little caution and common sense would have prevented the whole thing.You sound like you were either fired from a railroad job or work for a law firm that got beat in court
 @Jon Brawn why people don't pay more attention to train tracks.......