MARCH 18, 2015
ATLANTA, GEORGIA
A popular personal trainer and YouTube personality was hit
and killed by a freight train in Buckhead Tuesday afternoon.
The Fulton County Medical Examiner's office has identified
the victim as 30-year-old Travis Williams.
Williams, who had changed his name to Achilles Williams, was
a personal trainer who often videotaped outdoor workouts for his YouTube
channel. Investigators say Williams and a friend were shooting a video near the
train tracks over Roxboro Road near East Paces Ferry at the time of the
accident. Williams was jumping rope while the friend shot video.
Investigators say Williams was not on the tracks, but was
close enough to them to be struck as the freight train went by. They say he
apparently misjudged the width of the train in relation to the size of the
tracks. His friend was not injured but he was knocked down a hill by the
impact.
Friends and loved ones have been posting memories of
Williams on Instagram and Twitter since the accident.
Stay away from the train tracks, please. Trains are fascinating to watch, but only from a
distance. Besides, trespassing on
railroad property is prohibited. Too many people have died being near the
tracks. And, jumping rope close to the
tracks? Was he trying to tell people that it is alright to trespass on dangerous property and do fitness activities? Talking about taking risks or being crazy.
//-----------------------------------//
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.
|