Monday, March 30, 2015

MAN STRUCK AND KILLED BY TRAIN IN BRIGHTON, NY WAS WEARING EARPHONES




MARCH 30, 2015

BRIGHTON, NEW YORK

Garrett Magee was wearing earphones and walking with his back to an Amtrak passenger train when he was struck and killed Friday afternoon, Brighton's police chief said Monday.

Chief Mark Henderson said it appears the earphones prevented Magee, of Brookside Drive in Brighton, from hearing the train approaching him at 76 mph when he was struck between Clover Street and the 590 overpass, behind a stretch of houses on Greenaway Road.

Magee, 23, was walking on the south side of the tracks, in the same direction as the westbound train and was dragged about a quarter of mile before the train came to rest. The maximum speed for trains in that area is 79 mph.

Magee made no no attempt to avoid the train, Henderson said at a news conference.

"At this time, it appears, I'm going to call it a tragic accident."
Through Henderson, Magee's family declined to comment, but told and Henderson that Magee used the route to get to work.

Henderson and Brighton Supervisor William Moehle warned the community about the risks of walking on or along railroad tracks. There is no official pedestrian crossing where Magee was hit, but there is a well-worn footpath between a pair of houses at Clover and Greenaway.

"The area is prohibited for pedestrian traffic, it's posted from CSX asking that people not be in the area of the railroad tracks," Henderson said. "If you're walking and don't see the train comign they can come upon you very quickly."

Henderson said the engineer on the train and video from the train indicated Magee never heard the train whistle, suggesting Magee was listening to some type of device.

Henderson said the majority of the responsibility for keeping people off the tracks is the pedestrians' themselves.

"First and foremost it's the people themselves," Henderson said. "It's a posted area, it's a restricted area. It's incumbent upon all of us as individuals to heed the potential risk involved here."

He acknowledged that neighbors of the tracks have expressed concern about the foot traffic along the tracks, and police do respond when they are alerted.

"They have called us in the past, we have responded. Usually by the time we get there they are away from the railroad tracks. If we do find people on the railroad tracks we tell them it's a violation of the law, they are trespassing, and we talk about the dangers.

"This particular case highlights the dangers of being around a live railroad track."

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A pedestrian was struck and killed while walking along railroad tracks in the town of Brighton around 3:00 pm Friday.

Police described the victim as a male in his mid-twenties, but were not yet able to confirm his identity.

The man was struck by a westbound Amtrak train and dragged approximately a quarter of a mile, police said. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police were interviewing the engineer of the train and planned to review video from the train to see if it offered any details about what happened.

The incident occurred between Clover Street and the 590 overpass, behind a stretch of houses on Greenaway Road. While there is no official pedestrian crossing here, a well worn footpath between a pair of houses at Clover and Greenaway suggests it's a common route for pedestrians.

"It's an issue not just here but all along the railroad tracks," said Brighton police captain Dave Catholdi. "These trains travel up and down through here all day long. People need to cross at appropriate crossings, and this is not one of those areas where it's safe to cross."

Neighbors say they've been concerned for a long time about seeing groups of young people along the heavily trafficked stretch of tracks.

"I've called a number of times to both CSX as well as 911," said Jeff Guerdat, who has lived in the neighborhood for 24 years. "The Police respond but of course by the time they get here, they're long gone."

Guerdat said it's not uncommon to see neighborhood kids taking a shortcut across the tracks behind his house. Sometimes, the level of recklessness surprises him.

"We've seen people actually climbing on stopped trains," Guerdat said. "I saw one young lady with a baby walking around the back of a train. Just a number of absolutely silly things."

Guerdat said he has tried to raise awareness, but acknowledged it's a hard issue to address given how much open space there is. Still, he's disappointed that there wasn't some type of response that might have prevented this fatal incident.

"It was only a matter of time before this happened," Guerdat said.


Source: http://www.democratandchronicle.com

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NTSB TO HOLD FORUM ON THE DANGERS OF RAILROAD TRESPASSING
MARCH 11, 2015

WASHINGTON, DC

The National Transportation Safety Board will hold a public forum March 24-25 on the dangers of trespassing on the railroad right-of-way.

While railroad tracks have long held a cultural resonance with Americans, featured in motion pictures, TV shows, music videos and photography, they are private property.  And they can be a deadly place. In 2013, 476 people were killed and 432 were injured in trespassing accidents, according to preliminary data from the Federal Railroad Administration.

The forum, Trains and Trespassing: Ending Tragic Encounters, will be chaired by NTSB Board Member Robert L. Sumwalt. It will feature speakers who have been seriously injured by trains; those whose communities have been affected; and railroad employee assistance program employees whose train crews have struck people on railroad property. The forum will draw on the expertise of railroads, regulators, and researchers, among others, to review the diversity of trespassing accidents and incidents and look at current and future prevention strategies.

The forum will be held at the NTSB's Board Room and Conference Center, located at 429 L'Enfant Plaza, S.W., Washington, D.C. However, on March 25, the forum will include a tour of Norfolk Southern’s safety train at Union Station.
More information about the forum can be found here: http://www.ntsb.gov/trespassing
The public can view the forum in person or by live webcast on the NTSB's website. As soon as they are available, an agenda and webcast details will be posted.