APRIL 23, 2015
JACKSON COUNTY, GEORGIA
Police say a teenager was hit and killed by a train in
Jackson County Thursday morning.
The 17-year-old was walking along the train track near the intersection of Cobb Street and Highway 11 and was hit by a freight train, Jefferson police say.
Jefferson Fire tells Channel 2’s Mike Petchenik the teen may have been wearing headphones at the time of the incident.
The 17-year-old was walking along the train track near the intersection of Cobb Street and Highway 11 and was hit by a freight train, Jefferson police say.
Jefferson Fire tells Channel 2’s Mike Petchenik the teen may have been wearing headphones at the time of the incident.
Witnesses say the train whistle was blowing but the teenager
never made a move to get out of the way.
“We heard that he may have had earphones in. We haven't been
able to confirm that yet so it was possible he was listening to music. Trains
can come upon you real quick,” said police chief Joe Wirthman.
The chief told said investigators found the boy's phone in
the wreckage and the music was still playing.
Authorities have not yet released the victim's name.
Source: http://www.wsbtv.com/
NTSB TO HOLD FORUM ON THE DANGERS OF RAILROAD TRESPASSING
MARCH 11, 2015
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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.
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