MEC&F Expert Engineers : 04/30/15

Thursday, April 30, 2015

BNSF RAILWAY TO PAY $20 MILLION IN TRAIN WRONGFUL DEATH LAWSUIT. THE CROSSING DID NOT HAVE SAFE SIGHT DISTANCE, LIGHTS OR GATES, HAD OBSTRUCTED VISIBILITY AND THAT THE TRAIN CREW WAS NEGLIGENT




APRIL 30, 2015

STEELE, MO. (AP)

A southeast Missouri woman has been awarded $20 million in a wrongful death lawsuit filed after her husband died in a collision with a train in 2012.

A jury returned the verdict Tuesday in favor of Sherry Spence against BNSF Railway. Her husband, 53-year-old Scott Spence, died in a collision with a BNSF train in October 2012 on a rural Stoddard County road. Court records indicate the crossing had only a railroad crossing sign.

The Southeast Missouri reported the family argued the crossing did not have safe sight distance, lights or gates, had obstructed visibility and that the train crew was negligent.

BNSF said in a statement that no evidence showed negligence by the railroad and the trial clearly showed Spence did not stop at the crossing.


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STEELE WOMAN AWARDED $20 MILLION IN WRONGFUL-DEATH LAWSUIT

THURSDAY, APRIL 30, 2015
STEELE, MO.

The widow of a Southeast Missouri businessman killed in a collision with a train in 2012 was awarded $20 million in court this week.
After deliberating for just over two hours, a jury returned a wrongful-death verdict Tuesday in favor of Sherry Spence against Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway. Spence is the wife of the late Scott Spence, a well-known businessman in the area who owned lumber mills in Steele and Portageville, Missouri. 

Associate Circuit Judge Stephen Mitchell entered the sum of $19 million, plus court costs, to go to Sherry Spence after reducing the jury's verdict by the 5 percent fault attributable to Scott Spence, online court records show. 

Scott Spence, 53, was killed in a collision with a BNSF train about 2 p.m. Oct. 20, 2012, according to a report by the Caruthersville Democrat Argus. The accident occurred as Spence, driving his 2000 Chevrolet Silverado east on Stoddard County Road 470, tried to cross the tracks. Spence, who was not wearing a seat belt, was thrown from the vehicle. 

The driver of the train was not injured, and the train was driven from the scene with only minor damage, the article said. 

The only signal at the intersection was a railroad crossing sign without lights or gates. 

Defense attorney Laurel Stevenson of Springfield, Missouri, deferred all comments to a BNSF spokesman.
"BNSF respects the jury's time and effort it devoted to this case, and we will evaluate how best to address the multiple irregularities in the trial," BNSF spokesman Mike Trevino said. "While everyone recognizes the emotional and sympathetic nature of this grade-crossing accident, there was no evidence presented of negligence by the railroad, and the evidence clearly shows that the motorist did not stop at the crossing. Regardless of this litigation's ultimate outcome, BNSF recognizes the loss suffered by the Spence family and again extends its condolences." 

"The jury understood that safety cannot be sacrificed for money," Cape Girardeau attorney J. Michael Ponder, who represented Spence, said in a news release. "This lawsuit was about accountability, to ensure additional lives aren't endangered merely to protect BNSF's bottom line. We're happy the jury held BNSF responsible for their actions by awarding this verdict." 

In a joint written statement, Scott Spence's family said it was "very thankful for the jury's service. The family brought this case in order to hold BNSF accountable and hopefully prevent any future tragedies at dangerous railroad crossings. We all sincerely hope that BNSF will take this verdict as a signal it must improve its railroad crossings by cutting back vegetation so that trains are clearly visible and by installing lights and gates so they are safe for the public."
Ponder said their side of the argument had three components. 

They argued the crossing was defective because it had "inappropriate sight distances" and no lights or gates. 

They claimed the vegetation growing near the intersection was too close to the road, which obstructed visibility. 

Their third claim was there was negligence on the part of the train crew, which should have been able to see Spence's vehicle approaching while it was a half-mile away, because the tracks and train sit much higher than the road, Ponder said. 

Such a large verdict is not typical in Southeast Missouri.
"As far as I can remember, that's the largest verdict we've ever had in the area, I'd say south of St. Louis. So, yes, it's higher than normal." 

The next-largest verdict Ponder could recall was a burn case in Scott County about a decade ago, in which $4 million was awarded.
While visibility was presented as the main issue in the Spence case, one thing that was not was the sounding of the train's horn. 

Trains are required to blow their horns while approaching public grade crossings, according to the Federal Railroad Administration.
Engineers must begin to sound the horn at least 15 seconds and no more than 20 seconds before all public grade crossings. 

If the train is traveling faster than 60 mph, engineers will not sound the horn until it is within a quarter-mile of the crossing, even if that makes the advance warning less than 15 seconds. 

The train crew blew the horn, Ponder said. But he added FRA data show horns are not effective as a warning device, so it was not a consideration in the case.
Ponder said the railroad is responsible for maintenance at crossings.
To add a signal, it first must get permission from the state to ensure the signal is designed and placed correctly; the state "routinely" gives permission when asked, Ponder said. 

Ponder said BNSF had not sought permission for a signal at that intersection.
"It was the railroad's position that the crossing was just fine. Wouldn't change a thing," he said. 

He said there had been numerous near-misses, plus two crashes during the 1980s and one other fatality, in 1957.
"To me, it's a wonder more people haven't been killed," Ponder said.
Two sets of guidelines -- the American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials guidebook and the U.S. Department of Transportation's federal Railroad-Highway Grade Crossing Handbook -- dictate when and where a railroad should seek to have signals installed at crossings, Ponder said. 

The Railroad-Highway Grade Crossing Handbook, revised in 2007, states: "The current practices of existing railroads in general are to consolidate and close grade crossings where feasible. The creation of new at-grade crossings is not a preferred approach to addressing highway mobility."
According to that handbook, one of every 10 crossing collisions resulted in death. 

Stop signs at passive crossings have an unknown measure of effectiveness and cost $1,200 to $2,000, according to data in the handbook. 

Flashing lights account for an 83 percent reduction in deaths in the U.S. over railroad crossing signs alone and cost $20,000 to $30,000.
Adding lights plus two gates, at an estimated cost of $150,000, resulted in a 100 percent reduction in deaths. 

Ponder said it's estimated adding such a signal would cost about $200,000 over the life of the equipment, which is 20 to 25 years.
Ponder said a program exists in which the federal government distributes a certain amount of taxpayer money each year to states. The states rank all their railroad crossings and fix those determined to be the worst first. 

"The problem is that amounts to about five crossings a year in a state. And, in fact, there's so little money that the state gets to do that, that they have had a 'three-death rule' at a crossing before they even look at it for improvement," he said. 

Ponder claims BNSF waits for the state to identify crossings that are bad before spending money.
He said new leaders who took over in the Missouri Department of Transportation in 2011 have lowered the limit of fatalities to two, "but that's still two people got to get killed before they do anything." 

Railroads are required by federal law to inspect tracks at least twice a week, Ponder said. 

"The problem comes in that the railway inspectors are not inspecting for crossing safety," he said. "They are simply inspecting to see if the track is lined up right so that the train won't go off the rails. Or if they're looking at all for vegetation, it's just to make sure it's not hanging down in the way of the train. They have no analysis of whether the crossing is safe for motorists." 

Ponder said MoDOT inspects a crossing only if it is tagged as a problem area by the state or the railroad. 

Ponder speculates the rural crossings that are "bad as can be" will be fixed last because they see less traffic.
"I think there's probably a disparate impact on the country folks, simply because it is the higher-traffic crossings that get fixed first, because you're going to get to the three-death limit first if more people are using it." 

In addition to his wife, Scott Spence was survived by two adult sons, Jonathan and Matthew, both of Steele. 

Scott Spence was active in church organizations, Little League and the chamber of commerce, served on various city boards and was a former Boy Scout leader, according to an online obituary. 

Even though he never met Scott Spence, Ponder called him "a tremendous individual. It's an absolute loss to the Steele community." 

"If a man's sons are a measure of his greatness, then he was a great man indeed."
Source: http://www.semissourian.com

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1 DEAD AFTER TRAIN AND VEHICLE COLLIDE NEAR STEELE, MO.
OCTOBER 21, 2012

STEELE, MO (KFVS) -
One person was killed Saturday after a Burlington-Northern Santa Fe train and vehicle collided, according to Pemiscot County Sheriff Tommy Greenwell.

The Missouri Highway Patrol says the wreck happened at around 4:30 Saturday afternoon just south of Steele.

A truck driven by Scott Spence, 53, of Steele pulled into the path of the train as it crossed the tracks.
Troopers say it's unclear exactly why Spence pulled into the path of the train.

SMALL PLANE CRASH IN BLACK FOREST, COLORADO WHEN THE PLANE WENT INTO AN UPRIGHT SPIN AND CRASHED UPSIDE DOWN







APRIL 30, 2015

EL PASO COUNTY, COLORADO

"Extremely lucky," authorities marveled after two men walked away from a plane crash in Black Forest Wednesday night.

A witness to the crash called 911 after seeing a plane "spiraling down" just after 6:30 p.m., according to El Paso County sheriff's deputy Robert Stone.

The plane crashed in a large gully not far from Milam and Shoup, and was at least 500 yards from the nearest home. The single-engine plane was a total loss; the 35-year-old pilot and 18-year-old passenger walked away with little more than bumps and bruises.

"The tail has broken off, the wings are bent out of shape, the engine separated from the aircraft. I am extremely surprised they were able to walk away from the crash," Stone told 11 News.

According to pilot Matt Tanner, he had rented the plane for the day and was demonstrating a stall to passenger Issac Brumm when the plane went into an upright spin and crashed upside down. Tanner said his faith in Jesus and thoughts of his family are what carried him through that terrifying minute they were going down.

Tanner and Brumm were at least 4,500 feet off the ground when the plane started having problems.

Tanner told 11 News that he has been in spins like the one Wednesday thousands of times before, and he knew what what happening and took the steps to recover, but the plane wouldn't respond.

The FAA is now taking over the investigation into the crash.

Date:
29-APR-2015
Time:
18:30
Type:
Airplane
Owner/operator:

Registration:

C/n / msn:

Fatalities:
Fatalities: 0 / Occupants: 2
Other fatalities:
0
Airplane damage:
Substantial
Location:
Black Forest, NE of USAF Academy Airfield (KAFF), Colorado Springs, CO - http://aviation-safety.net/database/country/flags_15/N.gif  United States of America
Phase:
Manoeuvring (airshow, firefighting, ag.ops.)
Nature:
Training
Departure airport:

Destination airport:

Narrative:
The aircraft departed controlled flight and impacted mountenous terrain in the Black Forest area northeast of the USAF Academy Airfield (KAFF), Colorado Springs, Colorado. The airplane sustained substantial damage and the two occupants onboard received minor injuries.
Sources:


TRUCKING COMPANY SUED IN FIERY GEORGIA CRASH THAT KILLED 5 BEAUTIFUL NURSING STUDENTS. THE TRACTOR-TRAILER FAILED TO SLOW DOWN FOR STOP-AND-GO TRAFFIC, SMASHED INTO TWO VEHICLES IN WHICH THE NURSING STUDENTS WERE CARPOOLING










APRIL 30, 2015

SAVANNAH, GEORGIA

The mother of one of five nursing students killed in a Georgia highway crash last week has sued the trucking company that employed the driver suspected of causing the fiery collision.

A wrongful death lawsuit filed in Bryan County State Court seeks monetary damages against Total Transportation of Mississippi and its parent company, Tennessee-based U.S. Xpress Enterprises, for the death of 21-year-old Abbie Deloach of Savannah. The civil suit was filed Wednesday on behalf of her mother, Kim Deloach McQuaig.

"She's a compassionate, forgiving person," McQuaig's attorney, Mark Tate, said Thursday. "This is not about revenge. This not about an eye for an eye. This is about the appropriate way to resolve problems between parties."

Deloach and four fellow nursing students from Georgia Southern University in Statesboro were traveling to Savannah, where they were wrapping up clinical training for the school year, when they died April 22 in a chain-reaction crash on Interstate 16.

The Georgia State Patrol has said a tractor-trailer failed to slow down for stop-and-go traffic backed up by an unrelated wreck. The big truck smashed into two vehicles in which the nursing students were carpooling, causing one of the cars to burst into flames. Seven total vehicles were damaged in the crash.
The tractor-trailer was registered to Total Transportation. The driver has not been charged, and he was not named as a defendant in McQuaig's civil lawsuit.

"If we thought there were criminal actions — that he was under the influence or texting or driving for an excessive number of hours — we would have named him" in the lawsuit, Tate said. "It's not really for me to get completely into, but I know that he is absolutely, deeply remorseful."

Total Transportation CEO John Stomps did not immediately return a phone call Thursday. Stomps said last week that the company was cooperating with investigators, but he declined to comment further on the crash.

The State Patrol has said it could take several months to finish its investigation of the crash and decide whether to bring criminal charges against the tractor-trailer driver. The agency's initial incident report was still not available Thursday, eight days after the collision.

In addition to Deloach, the crash also killed Emily E. Clark, 20, of Powder Springs; Morgan J. Bass, 20, of Leesburg; Catherine M. Pittman, 21, of Alpharetta; and Caitlyn N. Baggett, 21, of Millen. Georgia Southern officials said all were nursing students in their junior year.

3 WORKERS INJURED, 2 CRITICALLY, BY COLLAPSE AT WESTMORELAND CO. QUARRY





APRIL 29, 2015

WHITNEY, PA. (AP)

Three workers have been hurt, two seriously, after ground moved at an underground limestone mine in western Pennsylvania.

Jeff Sieg, a spokesman for Lehigh Hanson, the mine's parent company, says the collapse inside the mine caused air to rush out of its entrance about 5 a.m. Wednesday.

Three workers about to enter the Whitney quarry in Unity Township, Westmoreland County were hurt.

But Sieg says it's unclear whether they were harmed by being pushed back or knocked down by the rush of air, or whether they were hit by debris as a result, or both.

The workers were about 50 feet from the mine's entrance when they were injured.

Two were unconscious and flown to Pittsburgh hospitals while a third was taken by ambulance to a closer hospital nearby.

Channel 11’s Brandon Hudson talked with Anthony Matuszky, the chief of the Whitney-Hostetter Volunteer Fire Department.

He said the two workers who were flown to Pittsburgh “appeared to be in very serious condition,” while the third worker appeared to have a broken arm or shoulder.

Hudson also found the Whitney quarry had more than a dozen violations going back to 2012, while the most recent violation last month involved hazardous conditions and safety equipment defects.

Most of those violations have been assessed and fixed.