more railroad crossing incidents-Houston

[LCHIEN]

Since I posted about the baytown crash where the 15-y.o. kids went joyriding in stolen vehicles (yes, 2 in one night) and killed four of them when they crashed into an unlit train parked across a road while they were trying to get airborne... I got a rep as the train crash guy.

So I'll fill you in since June:

Three kids, driver under 16 (no licenses, obviously) were killed when their car was hit by an Amtrak train at a crossing.

Former NBA star and Houston Rocket (taken 7th in the 2001 NBA draft) was killed in Houston when he was travelling, drunk @ 3X the limit, at high speed and hit a train at a gated crossing.

Three passengers were killed yesterday and the driver very critically injured when he followed another car, snuck around stopped cars to weave through the closed gates. The first car made it but his van was struck. 25 Y.O unlicensed driver with 2 dwi on his record but they don't think alcohol was involved. If he lives he'll be charged with 3 counts of manslaughter.

The train weighed 7,200 tons. what's with people?

[Bruce Cohen]

Loring,

I'm starting to worry about you, you're getting a bit goulish with what appears to be your train crossing fixation.

Bruce

[LinuxRandal]

The train weighed 7,200 tons. what's with people?

There is a reason we have Darwin awards!

[cgallery]

I take no pleasure in these reports but I do find them fascinating. Many of them are quite different, from someone trying to catch some air and never seeing the train, to being intoxicated and having impaired motor skills, to seeing the train and rolling the dice (and losing).

They guy that was going to sneak around the train was apparently pretty sure he'd succeed. Helluva miscalculation. I wonder if the person in front of him hit the breaks or proceeded too slowly.

[cabinetman]

What some people do never surprises me. When I was 9 yrs old, I jumped off my roof wearing a Superman outfit.
.

[jziegler]

I read about one at the North end of New Jersey where a women with a couple kids in her car tried to beat a commuter train across the tracks. No serious injuries, fortunately. Something like that seems to happen regularly around here. I have no sympathy for people that get hit on a properly marked, maintained crossing. In train vs. car, train will always win. I do have a lot of sympathy for the crew of the trains, the knowledge that you hit someone (and possibly killed them) even though you have no control of it, what a horrible situation to be in. But I agree with LinuxRandal, Darwin awards exist for a reason (but exclude train accidents because they are too common, I think)

Jim

[BobSch]

We had a non-fatal car-train incedent yesterday.

One driver had trouble stopping on the slippery road, and swerved into another vehicle. The two cars slid onto the nearby railroad tracks, just as an oncoming train approached.

Witnesses say the two motorists had just ten seconds to get out and get away from their cars before the train crashed into them.

[LCHIEN]

well, I'm just trying to say, stupidity, cars and trains just don't mix well. The trains are insoluable.

[DJehlik]

Here's a new one...

A 16 year old teen was so absorbed in talking on his cell phone that he walked in front of an Amtrak train traveling about 75 mph. The train engineer told police that he walked around the crossing arms and did not look before walking onto the tracks.