Train hits bus in Evans City; one dead, 10 injured.

Date: 04/26/2013
Time: Around 8:10 A.M.
Location: Evans City, Pennsylvania
Vehicle(s) Involved: Ford E-450 bus, train

By Molly Born, Liz Navratil and Jonathan D. Silver / Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

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.

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.


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Man In Truck Dies In Crash With Train.

Date: 02/07/2013
Time: Around 1:00 P.M.
Location: Greenville, Tennessee
Vehicle(s) Involved: Toyota Tacoma, Train

By Sarah Gregory - Staff Writer

"One person was killed and another remains hospitalized after a pickup truck failed to stop for an oncoming train shortly after 1 p.m. Thursday afternoon, according to the Tennessee Highway Patrol (THP).
Brock Humphreys, 41, of Greeneville, was the driver of the red 1995 Toyota pickup truck.
Humphreys was pronounced dead at the scene by a supervisor with Greene County-Greeneville Emergency Medical Services (EMS).
Humphreys' passenger, Anthony Southerland, 48, of Mosheim, was airlifted by Wings Air Rescue to Johnson City Medical Center.
A housing supervisor at Johnson City Medical Center confirmed this morning that Southerland remains hospitalized in the Intensive Care Unit in stable, but guarded, condition.
REPORT: TRUCK DIDN'T STOP
A report filed by investigating Tennessee Highway Patrol Trooper Derek Turberville said Humphreys' truck was traveling southbound at about 1:05 p.m. when it approached flashing red lights at the railroad crossing near 1100 West Irish St.
The THP says the truck did not stop at the crossing and was struck in the driver's side door.
Preliminary findings by Turberville indicate drugs and alcohol were a factor in the wreck. Toxicology tests will be conducted on Humphreys and Southerland.
Dalya J. Qualls, THP public information officer, said neither Humphreys nor Southerland was wearing a seat belt.
Turberville's report said safety restraints would not have made a difference as to the extent of injuries the victims sustained.
LIGHTS OPERATING
Preliminary investigation and the report filed by the THP showed lights at the railroad crossing to be fully operational at the time of the accident.
That particular crossing, however, does not have a bar that lowers across the tracks when a train is approaching.
The railroad crossing light pole located along the southbound lanes was knocked down and was lying flat on the ground while emergency personnel worked the scene.
Crossing lights on the opposite side of the tracks remained flashing while emergency crews responded to the accident scene.
NUMEROUS RESPONDERS
Officials from Norfolk Southern Corporation, which operates the railway, were at the scene Thursday afternoon.
Two cars of the train had to be detached from each other to allow enough space to accommodate emergency vehicles and allow responders to work at the crash scene.
Units from the Greeneville Fire Department extinguished flames coming from the truck as a result of the collision.
A landing zone was established for a Wings Air Rescue helicopter.
Personnel from the Greeneville Police Department, the Greene County Sheriff's Department, the Greene County-Greeneville Emergency Medical Services, the Greeneville Emergency & Rescue Squad, the THP, and the THP's Critical Incident Response Team (CIRT) all assisted in the accident response.
After emergency response, representatives from Norfolk Southern began inspecting the tracks and preparing for railway operations to resume.
TRAFFIC SNARLED
Traffic in the area near the intersection of the Tennessee Rt. 70 Bypass and West Irish Street was disrupted for an extended period Thursday because of the accident.
Motorists traveling in the area of West Main Street, the Newport Highway (U.S. 321), the Asheville Highway (Tennessee Rt. 70), and West Irish Street had to be re-routed as the lengthy train remained at a stand-still for nearly two hours, blocking several crossings.
In addition to blocking the intersection near Bandy Road and Reaves Lane behind Greene Farmer's Co-Op, the train also blocked the intersection at Highway 70 and at another access farther east that crosses the tracks to connect West Main and West Irish streets.
Motorists had to be re-routed through various small, side streets in order to avoid the blocked train crossings.
Cutler Street, in particular, experienced a heavy flow of traffic and became quite congested as drivers attempted to navigate alternate routes.
INVESTIGATION CONTINUES
The investigation into the accident is continuing. The THP will release a final report at a later time.
Officials with Norfolk Southern are also conducting an investigation. Results are not yet available."

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Driver to be cited after train collides with minivan in Bridgeton.

Date: 04/01/2011
Time: Morning
Location: Bridgeton, New Jersey
Vehicle(s) Involved: Train, Dodge Caravan

By Stephen Smith - The News of Cumberland County

"BRIDGETON — A Winchester & Western train smashed the front-end of a fully-packed minivan Friday morning at Route 49 and Buckshutem Road.

While no injuries were reported, police said the accident could have been much worse.
It appeared as if the driver of the minivan was either distracted or was attempting to beat the train across the tracks, said Bridgeton police Lt. James Battavio.

A post accident check of the train showed that all lights, bells and whistles had been working, and statements from witnesses to the police suggested that the train actually blew its horn at the van as it was traveling south on the tracks that run by the intersection of Broad Street (Route 49) and Buckshutem Road.

Battavio said it appeared the van had stopped just short of the tracks and the train then clipped its front end. He said if the van had not stopped where it did the outcome could have been much worse.

Five people were in the van when it crashed, and they were all taken to area hospitals, though police could not release any names or to which hospitals they were taken Friday.
Battavio said the driver will be receiving traffic citations. "

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Man driving on slick road tries to stop car, ends up crashing into CSX train.

Date: 06/20/2012
Time: Around 11:30 P.M.
Location: Hillsborough, Florida
Vehicle(s) Involved: Train, Mitsubishi Eclipse

By Kristal Roberts

"HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. - A man was taken to the hospital after he crashed his car into a CSX train in Hillsborough Wednesday night.
The incident happened on U.S. 41 South of Madison Avenue at 11:30 p.m.
The man was driving on a wet road when he saw the crossing arm at the train tracks coming down, but he could not stop his car. The vehicle ended up sliding under the crossing arm and hitting the front of the train’s engine.
The train wasn’t damaged, but the front of the driver’s vehicle sustained damage.
The man suffered injuries and was taken to the hospital. His current condition is unknown.
It isn’t yet clear whether the man will face any charges.
The Florida Highway Patrol is investigating the crash."

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Freight train hits car carrier in Kent.

Date: 01/30/2009
Time: Afternoon
Location: Kent, Washington
Vehicle(s) Involved: Train, semi truck, Cadillac DTS

By KOMO Staff

"KENT, Wash. - A freight train smashed into a semi truck loaded with new cars as the truck was crossing the tracks Friday afternoon, officials said.
The impact mangled the semi tractor's cab and its trailer, and impaled a new car on the front of the train's engine, which continued down the tracks for another half mile before it was able to stop.
There were no injuries reported in the crash, which took place on State Route 167 at South 212th Street.
The twisted remains of the semi-trailer and its cargo of new cars remain at the scene of the impact, and the highway remains closed where the train is blocking both lanes.
Kent firefighters responded to the scene of the accident.
More information will be posted as it becomes available."

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Woman in SUV Strikes Train.

Date: 09/09/2007
Time: Unknown
Location: Wellington, Ohio
Vehicle(s) Involved: Ford Escape, Train

By TMC News

"Wellington Fire District Firefighters responded to the railroad crossing on Quarry Road just south of Route 18 Sunday afternoon after a woman struck a train.

Firefighters were able to extricate 55-year-old Linda O. Lishchuk-Hupert of Parma in a short amount of time then she was turned over to the care of Metro LifeFlight Medical Crew. Lishchuk-Hupert was then flown to MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland with multiple injuries; her condition is unknown at this time.

Arthur Palmer was stopped at the crossing on the north side when he saw Lishchuk-Hupert’s SUV heading toward him from the south. When asked if he tried to signal to the SUV, Palmer states that he did. “Yes, I flashed my lights but the vehicle kept coming, when the train crossed she hit the 2nd or 3rd engine." Palmer said that the SUV struck and took down the Cross Bucks before striking the train. Palmer also stated that the train had blown its horn 3 or 4 times before crossing.

There are no flashing lights or gates at this crossing but there are Cross Bucks located on each side.

The Ohio State Highway Patrol is investigating the crash."

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Estevan priest dies after train hits car.

Date: 06/10/2012
Time: Around 10:30 A.M.
Location: Macoun, Saskatchewan, Canada
Vehicle(s) Involved: Train, Toyota Camry

By CTV Regina

"A Roman Catholic priest from Estevan has died in hospital after the car he was driving was hit by a train.

RCMP have identified the victim as 43-year-old (censored).
Emergency crews responded to the collision in the community of Macoun, about 30 kilometres northwest of Estevan, Sunday morning.
The driver of the vehicle was taken to hospital in Weyburn and was later transported by STARS air ambulance to Regina, where he died from his injuries Thursday morning.
Mounties say the railroad crossing was marked with signs and the lights and whistles on the train were working at this time of the collision.
The crash remains under investigation, but police say no charges are expected."

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Train-van crash in Lakeshore kills 2 children, injures 3.

Date: 06/11/2012
Time: Morning
Location: Lakeshore, Ontario, Canada
Vehicle(s) Involved: Train, Dodge Caravan

By Rebecca Wright, The Windsor Star

"Two children have died following a crash involving a CP freight train and a Dodge minivan in Lakeshore Sunday morning.
Ontario Provincial Police report six-year-old (Censored) and her sister (Censored), 3, were killed when the minivan they were riding in collided with a train on Strong Road, just north of County Road 42.
Their brother, (Censored), 4, sustained serious life-threatening injuries and was transferred to a hospital in Detroit to receive medical treatment.
Their father, Andrew Wil-liams, who was driving the van, also sustained serious life-threatening injuries and is in a Windsor hospital with the youngest passenger, one-year-old Jasmyn Williams, who received minor injuries in the crash.
OPP said the family from Lakeshore was heading south on Strong Road just before 10 a.m. Sunday when it collided with the train that was heading west.
Nobody on the train was injured, police said.
OPP Technical Collision Investigators are continuing to look into the matter, along with Canadian Pacific Police, to determine the cause of the accident.
As police investigated the scene, the mangled van sat about 10 metres west of the intersection where the collision took place.
Due to the immense damage as a result of the collision, the van was almost unrecognizable and it was difficult to make out exactly what kind of vehicle it was.
The intersection has no lights or gates to warn motorists of an oncoming train, but rather an X symbolizing the crossing and a bright yellow sign warning motorists to be prepared to stop.
Strong Road in Lakeshore has been reopened.
Anyone who may have witnessed the crash or may has any information related to the accident is urged to call OPP Const. Raquel Otterman at 519-728-1810 or anonymously to Crime Stoppers at 519-258-TIPS (8477)."

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Just In: Train, vehicle collide in east Abilene; driver of truck injured.

Date: 06/07/2012
Time: Around 05:20 A.M.
Location: Abilene, Texas
Vehicle(s) Involved: Train, Semi-trailer

By Reporter News

"At 5:20 a.m. today, a truck and a train collided at T&P Lane in east Abilene, according to Abilene Police Department reports.
The driver, 37-year-old Joel Newberry, from Abilene, was taken to Hendrick Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries.
Newberry was driving a semi-trailer north over the tracks near Sandy Street when his truck was struck by a Union Pacific train that was going east, said George Spindler, spokesman for the Abilene Police Department.
Spindler said the tractor-trailer became lodged on the train tracks when a its trailer became disconnected. The driver backed up his truck in an effort to reconnect the trailer, he said, resulting in the vehicle being driven back over the train tracks and getting stuck.
Preliminary information indicates the train was traveling at a reduced speed of approximately 30 miles per hour, said Spindler.
The tractor-trailer, he said, was pushed back about 35 yards before coming to a rest.
A damage assessment is pending. During the crash approximately 100 to 200 gallons of diesel fuel was spilled out on the roadway, he said."

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Monday morning MetroRail crash kills man, hurts 2 kids.

Date: 04/30/2012
Time: Around 07:40 A.M.
Location: North Austin, Texas
Vehicle(s) Involved: Metrorail Train, Ford Taurus

By Ben Wear  AMERICAN-STATESMAN STAFF
"A man was killed and two children were injured Monday morning when a Capital Metro train struck their car at a private rail crossing in North Austin, officials said.
It was the second time in MetroRail's 25 months of operation that a train had hit a vehicle at an intersection with no protective gates.
The southbound MetroRail train hit a white sedan at a dirt and gravel drive just south of Scofield Ridge Parkway about 7:40 a.m., Capital Metro spokeswoman Erica McKewen said.
The drive leads to at least two homes in a wooded area to the west. The car appeared to have been eastbound, heading toward the Loop 1 tollway's southbound frontage road.
The Capital Metro track in that area is a long straightaway running alongside the frontage road. A train approaching from the north would be visible for more than a quarter-mile in clear conditions, as was the case Monday morning.
(removed), 32, was pronounced dead at the scene, Austin police said. Two boys in the car were taken to Dell Children's Medical Center, said James Shamard, chief of staff for Austin/Travis County Emergency Medical Services.
Authorities did not identify the children Monday, nor did they release information on their conditions. Shamard did not know whether the man was the boys' father.
Herzog Transportation Services, which operates MetroRail under a contract with Capital Metro, declined to release the train engineer's name. General Manager Terry Bruner told the American-Statesman an initial review of video and onboard data from the incident showed no error by the engineer, who applied the emergency brake and blew the train's horn in the seconds before the crash.
The engineer is next scheduled to work Friday and is free to do so, Bruner said, if he is ready mentally.
"He did everything he could possibly do," Bruner said. "It's a horrendous day."
None of the 128 people on the train appeared to be injured in the crash, Shamard said.
The private crossing has stop signs and white railroad crossing signs just east and west of the tracks but no arms, bells or flashing lights. That setup is typical of the 12 private crossings along the 32-mile MetroRail line and of private railroad crossings generally. Only two private roads along the track, both leading to a gravel quarry with frequent truck traffic, have crossing arms, McKewen said. Another such road, leading to a church, has warning lights and bells but no gates, she said.
The MetroRail line has 62 public crossings, McKewen said. All of them have crossing gates except Red River Street downtown, which has a traffic light.
About 39 percent of the nation's 240,000 railroad crossings in 2006 were private roads or driveways, according to a 2008 Federal Railroad Administration report. Of those 94,400 private crossings, only about 10 percent had safety gates, lights or other mechanical warning devices, the report said. Almost a quarter had no stop signs or train warnings.
The report said that in 2006, there were 410 collisions and 30 deaths at private railroad crossings.
Authorities could not say Monday whether the man's car was moving at the time of the crash or was stationary on the tracks. Officials also could not say how fast the train was moving, but the train speed limit in that stretch of track is 40 mph, McKewen said.
The train came to a stop about 250 feet south of the private drive, with the badly damaged car still entangled in the train's front bumper.
Capital Metro has required its MetroRail engineers to sound the train's bells at each crossing, public or private, since an incident in March 2011 when a train clipped the rear end of a pickup at a private crossing in Cedar Park, McKewen said. The agency also cut back brush to improve sight lines after that accident, and before residents complained, trains sounded their horns when passing that crossing. No one was injured in that incident.
MetroRail engineers are not required to blow their horns as they approach crossings; the agency and the City of Austin have designated quiet zones, where horns generally are not sounded, including in the area of the crash.
Spc. Jeffrey Hinojosa of Texas' Army National Guard said he was in his car on the frontage road parallel with the tracks when he heard the horn.
"I saw the debris flying, and I thought, ‘Oh, man, the train hit a car,' " he said.
Hinojosa immediately pulled over, he said, and started running toward the scene, calling 911 as he did. He was the first one there, he said."

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Driver Killed in Train vs. Car Accident in Placentia.

Date: 12/09/2011
Time: Around 8:00 A.M.
Location: Placentia, CA
Vehicle(s) Involved: Train, Toyota Corolla

By KTLA News

"PLACENTIA (KTLA) -- A driver was killed Friday morning in a collision between a car and a train in Placentia.

The accident happened just before 8 a.m. on tracks that run parallel with Orangethorpe Ave.
The car was struck by a Burlington Northern-Santa Fe Railroad freight train as it was traveling eastbound across the intersection of E. Orangethrorpe Ave. and Tustin Ave.
The car was pushed about a quarter mile down the tracks, and came to rest at the intersection of South Jefferson Street.
The driver of the vehicle, a man in his 30s, was pronounced dead at the scene.
His identity was not immediately released.
There were no passengers in the car.
No one onboard the train was injured.
The cause of the crash is now under investigation.
Orangethorpe was closed for a time at the intersections of Miller, Tustin Ave. and S. Jefferson."

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