- Works at Liberty Parks and Recreation
- Former Park Maintenance at Nebraska Game and Parks Commission
- Lives in Maryville, Missouri
- From Orlando, Florida
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| Liberty Parks & Rec worker Cameron Leeds, 26, of Gladstone, died Wednesday when his truck was hit by a train. The City of Liberty |
Two Liberty parks workers are injured — one critically — after their truck was hit by a train Wednesday south of Old Highway 210 about a half mile east of Missouri 291.
By Jill Toyoshiba
By Joe Robertson
jrobertson@kcstar.com
September 26, 2018
A Liberty parks worker has died after a city work truck was hit by a train Wednesday morning.
Cameron Leeds, 26, of Gladstone was driving the truck when he attempted to cross a double set of train tracks on a service road south of Old Highway 210, east of Missouri 291, about 9:40 a.m.
“We have lost a young and vibrant member of our Liberty family today,” Liberty City Administrator Curt Wenson said in a written statement. “Cameron has left an indelible mark on the Parks & Rec Department and the City of Liberty as a whole.” Of course he should have been more careful and see if the lines are clear from all trains. You always lose that game, eventually.
Leeds and another worker in the truck were traveling north on the gravel road and had waited at the crossing while a westbound train passed.
But after that train cleared, the parks truck drove into the path of an eastbound train on the second track, police said.
Leeds, who had worked for the city for three years, had to be extricated from the truck, which was knocked into the ditch on the north side of the track. The other worker, a 58-year-old man, suffered serious injuries and was reported to be in stable condition Wednesday.
The workers were driving on a gravel service road and the crossing has only a stop sign, with no lowering arms or warning lights. It is not a road used by the general public and has a fence and a gate between the railroad crossing and Old Highway 210. The truck was hit by a Norfolk Southern train.
Leeds’ death is being felt throughout the city’s departments, Wenson said in his statement.
“With a city staff our size,” he said, “we get to know and work closely with people in every department.”
Earlier, Liberty Police Capt. Andy Hedrick said the Police Department shared the same grief.
“Our hearts and prayers go out to the workers,” Hedrick said. “We (the police and other city departments) work with the parks all the time and they’re considered family.”
Wednesday’s crash occurred during the middle of Operation Lifesaver’s national Rail Safety Week campaign.
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Leeds, Cameron Austin
December 15, 1991 — September 26, 2018
Cameron Austin Leeds, 26, of the Kansas City Northland, joined his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on September 26, 2018. Visitation will be held from 5-8 pm Monday, October 1, at Pleasant Valley Baptist Church, 1600 N. Hwy. 291, Liberty, MO. A service celebrating Cameron's life will be held at 11:00 am Tuesday, October 2, at Pleasant Valley Baptist Church. Burial will be private. In lieu of flowers, memorials are suggested to the Building Fund at Briarcliff Church.
Cameron was born December 15, 1991, in Hollywood, FL and moved with his parents to the Kansas City area in 2006. He graduated from Oak Park High School and received his Bachelor's degree from Northwest Missouri State University in Maryville. He worked for the City of Liberty Parks and Recreation for the past three years, where he was an Arborist and proud ISA member.
Cameron was an Eagle Scout and a Warrior in the Tribe of Mic-O-Say. Cameron was an active member of Briarcliff Church where he served as an usher and was a member of Young Adults. He loved to duck hunt, fish, hike, and camp.
Cameron was united in marriage to Alexandra Heavner on October 23, 2016 in Weston, MO. Along with Alex, Cameron leaves his mom and dad, Janet and Craig Leeds; grandparents, Lorne and Macil Leeds and Mizella Pearson; Alex's mother, Lorie Heavner; and Alex's brother and sister, Joshua Heavner and Amanda Heavner; as well as numerous aunts, uncles, cousins and many friends who will miss him greatly. He was preceded by his grandfather, Norman Pearson.
