MARCH 19, 2015
EVANS CITY, PA. (AP)
The families of
people hurt or killed when a freight train hit their minibus in western
Pennsylvania have sued the bus driver and transportation agency for negligence.
The lawsuit Tuesday
comes a year after bus driver Frank Schaffner was sentenced to 16 years of
probation in the April 2013 crash that killed two people and injured eight.
The bus was
transporting senior citizens and people with disabilities in Butler.
Schaffner didn’t
stop at the foggy crossing, telling police he’d never encountered a train there
before. Schaffner’s passengers began screaming, but he told police he
didn’t hear the train over a radio.
The train was about
70 feet away when Schaffner told police he saw it and tried to accelerate out
of its way.
“did not hear, did
not see the train”, all while the passengers were screaming. This driver has credibility problems.
//----------------------------------------//
26 APRIL 2013 –
UNITED STATES
At a rural Buffalo
& Pittsburgh Railroad crossing, in Butler County, Pennsylvania (near Pittsburgh),
an Allegheny Valley Railroad freight train carrying asphalt (with 2
locomotives, 29 cars; traveling at the 25 mph limit) strikes an Alliance
for Nonprofit Resources Inc. Butler Area Rural Transit Authority bus carrying
impaired seniors and younger adults at the Maple Street intersection.
It's unclear whether
the bus stopped on or before the tracks; the train's brakes are believed to
have been applied and the horn to have sounded.
Two people are flown
by helicopter to area trauma centers–one was in critical condition, and a 91-year-old
woman dies later at Allegheny General Hospital.
Ten others,
including the bus driver, are also hospitalized.
//--------------------------------------------//
TRAIN HITS BUS IN
EVANS CITY; ONE DEAD, 10 INJURED. INVESTIGATORS
EXAMINE WHETHER THICK FOG PLAYED ROLE IN COLLISION
APRIL 26, 2013
One person was killed and 10 others injured this morning when a train crashed into a Butler Area Rural Transit bus at a train crossing in Evans City.
A rural Butler
County railroad crossing where a freight train carrying asphalt collided Friday
with a paratransit bus in heavy fog -- killing one person and injuring 10
others -- lacked warning lights and swinging gate arms to halt traffic.
For unknown reasons
the bus ended up with its passengers -- elderly and disabled adults -- atop the
tracks at Maple Avenue in Evans City around 8:10 a.m., when the 31-car train
slammed into its driver's side, knocking the vehicle askew and totaling it.
Two critically
injured passengers were flown by medical helicopter to Pittsburgh-area
hospitals. One of them, 91-year-old Claudette Miller of Callery, died at
Allegheny General Hospital at 1:02 p.m., according to the Allegheny County
medical examiner's office.
//------------------------------------//
BUS-TRAIN COLLISION
IN EVANS CITY INJURES SEVERAL
Two people were
critically injured this morning when a train crashed into a Butler Area Rural
Transit Authority bus at a train crossing in Evans City. (Video by Darrell
Sapp; edited by Melissa Tkach)
The other remained
in critical condition, and Evans City police Chief Joseph McCombs said the
passenger might not survive.
Everyone else on the
bus, including the driver -- identified by Chief McCombs as Frank Schaffner,
59, of Butler -- was taken by ambulance to hospitals in Allegheny and Butler
counties. Hospital officials said their injuries were not life-threatening.
Conflicting accounts
emerged about whether the driver was stopped or in the process of crossing the
tracks when the crash occurred. Also unclear was the role the fog played.
"For some
unknown reason, it stopped directly in the crossing," Chief McCombs said
of the bus. Police said the train's engineer told them he sounded the horn
"numerous times."
Chief McCombs said
the bus, which was going east toward South Washington Street, entered the
crossing and did not move as the Allegheny Valley Railroad train -- composed of
two locomotives and 29 cars -- was approaching.
The train was
believed to be moving around 25 mph -- the speed limit -- according to
information provided to federal inspectors by the engineer and conductor.
The engineer saw the
bus, sounded the horn several times and applied the brakes before the crash,
which Chief McCombs described as "pretty chaotic" with "pretty
severe impact."
Michael Robb,
executive director of the Alliance for Nonprofit Resources Inc., which oversees
the program under whose auspices the passengers were being transported, relayed
a different version of events.
"I don't
believe the bus stopped on the train tracks at all. He stopped prior to the
tracks as he's required and as he was crossing the tracks he was hit," Mr.
Robb said.
"It really is at
the driver's discernment whether a train was coming. I do not know if the train
blew the whistle or not. All I know is that our driver was conscious enough to
give his report to local authorities that he stopped. As he was crossing he was
struck by the train."
Mr. Robb said he had
not spoken to the driver. He expressed sympathy to the victims and said
transportation services will continue.
Evans City police
said they executed a search warrant to test the driver's blood to try to
determine whether drugs or alcohol were a factor. The chief said the driver did
not display any obvious signs of intoxication.
The Federal Railroad
Administration, which sent three inspectors to the scene, said it is up to the
owner of the road -- in this case, Evans City -- to decide whether to install
traffic control devices at the crossing.
"Towns and
state [departments of transportation] work with railroads on the design, but
it's ultimately up to them to decide to spend the money for active control
devices," agency spokesman Rob Kulat said.
Pennsylvania
Department of Transportation spokesman Steve Chizmar said it was a
"collaborative effort" among the municipality, the state, the federal
government and the track owner to determine whether warning devices should be
installed.
Evans City Mayor
Dean Zinkhann said he was unclear about who was responsible for determining the
type of warning used at a crossing. Chief McCombs, meanwhile, indicated that
the track's owner, Buffalo & Pittsburgh Railroad, would determine the
placement of crossing signals.
A marketing director
for that company did not return a phone message Friday.
Mr. Zinkhann said
the crossing in question leads to a remote area with two or three houses. He
estimated that cars cross the tracks there eight to 10 times a day at most.
"I don't know
who the fault is or the blame is [with]," the mayor said. "It would
be nice if there were more warning, yes."
A search of federal
records found no other accidents at the crossing.
The paratransit
vehicle -- a 2011 or 2012 Ford van chassis with a cutaway bus on top of it --
was transporting older and mentally disabled adults, ranging in age from
mid-20s to 91.
It is owned by
Butler County and is used for the Butler Area Rural Transit program, which is
administered by the Alliance for Nonprofit Resources.
Seat belts likely
prevented more serious injuries, according to the sister of one of the
passengers.
The woman, a
Cranberry resident, said her brother and other passengers all were strapped
into their seats at the time of the accident. She asked that neither her name
nor that of her brother be used.
While on its morning
run Friday, the bus apparently encountered fog at the railroad crossing.
"There was very
heavy fog in the area when we arrived," said Brian Greenawalt, Harmony
paramedic supervisor. "We're not sure whether that contributed."
"One-tenth of a
mile is all they could see," Mr. Zinkhann said, referring to the morning's
visibility. "I don't know why they didn't hear [the train]. The train was
alerting and signaling and horn tooting."
Authorities believe
the fog might have led to the accident, according to Mr. Robb.
He said he received
his information from police at the scene.
Investigators have
uploaded data from the train's "black box" recorder for analysis. The
data available should include the train's speed, direction, throttle position,
use of brakes, signals received from the dispatcher and use of the horn.
The federal Train
Horn Rule requires locomotive engineers to sound train horns between 15 and 20
seconds in advance of all "public grade crossings" in most
circumstances.
Russell A. Peterson,
chief executive officer of Oakmont-based Carload Express Inc., which operates
the Allegheny Valley Railroad, wrote in an email: "It's a very sad day for
all involved and our hearts and prayers go out to the passengers on the bus and
the crew on the train."
Mr. Robb said the
bus driver was a part-time employee and had worked for his group for about 21/2
years and had a good driving record.
Mr. Robb said the
man also works part time as an ambulance driver.
"He's been a
good driver for us. No incidents with him as a driver to my knowledge,"
Mr. Robb said. "I feel comfortable with his familiarity with the
rules."
Source:pa post gazette.com