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
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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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