18-Year-Old Survives Train Accident with only Minor Injuries

A man luckily survived and ended up only with minor injuries after being hit by three train cars yesterday morning.

According to a Sheriff’s Department officer, the train accident occurred at the tracks on Valley Boulevard at Puente Avenue at about 8:45 am.

The 18-year-old man apparently did not hear the train horns and the yelling of the conductor because he was wearing a headphone.

The conductor pulled the emergency brakes and was able to slow down the train to about 20 mph.

He got hit three times on the side but luckily did not get pulled under.

According to responding paramedics, the man sustained minor injuries but was coherent and able to respond to questions.

He was taken to a hospital for treatment and more tests.

Witnesses told deputies that the crossing signals and flashing red lights were functioning properly during the accident.

He was lucky that he did not sustain any serious injuries because I highly doubt that the railroad company’s insurance company would approve his personal injury claim since the accident was caused by his own negligence.

Hopefully he has learned his lesson and remembers that he almost died because of his headphone.

Teens Killed in Car Crash with Train

In Canton Township, Michigan, five people, all believed to be teenagers died when an Amtrak passenger train carrying about 170 people struck the teens’ car. Authorities say that the sedan had skirted a gate at a road crossing near Detroit.

According to the authorities, the crossing has a gate and flashing lights that apparently were working when the car approached. Witness accounts have claimed that the car didn’t stop at the gate but instead went around the safety arm.

The Amtrak train, which typically travels about 67 miles per hour, broadsided the car and pushed it about one mile down the tracks. The sedan was found crumpled underneath the front of the train and ended up right-side, with its roof and front crushed.

The police estimate that the victims around 17 and 18, the only female passenger was around 14 years old. The five fatalities were from outside the western Wayne County community.

The Chicago Amtrak spokesman said that there was no train malfunction and that the train crew was doing exactly what it should be doing. Marc Magliari, the spokesman said that, "They can't make vehicles, or pedestrians for that matter, heed signals."

The train accident is a tragic and rather painful end for five young people. Again, these deaths could have easily been prevented, had the driver of the ill-fated vehicle respected the lowered gate and flashing lights and if they had chosen to wait until the train has passed.

Unfortunately, youth is often an excuse for reckless and impetuous behavior. It’s no surprise that with that kind of daredevil attitude, motor vehicle accidents are leading cause of death for teens.

These kids and the young driver may have assumed that they could have outrun the train. They must have thought that they were invincible against trains running at least 67 miles per hour. It was a foolish decision which has caused them their lives.

Car and train crashes are one of the most easily preventable deaths. If people just curbed their impatience, they looked before crossing the track, if they observed the train’s warning lights and gate, they would have saved their lives.

That Horrible Metrolink Train Accident

Although the Federal transportation official made a pronouncement that it is too early to know what really caused the train crash that left:

• 25 people dead
• 135 people injured
• 40 critically injured

… the Metrolink official earlier said that the train crashed after their engineer drove through in red light.

Metrolink sensibly accepted responsibility in this now the worst train accident in Southern California, if not the whole of California, in half a century.

The LA Times extensively reported the news. And as if echoing the question many victims and their families or the public in general have in mind, the news account asks “how the Metrolink engineer could have missed the red signal.”

We cannot answer this question with definiteness this early. We can only surmise, speculate and infer from many unclear but determinable details of what really took place in the accident and what really caused it.

A lot has been said but as mentioned, that would remain speculations for now.

Answer/s to that question will not be available sooner or later as the investigation is still on going.

One thing is certain here though. Metrolink, now dubbed as one of the worst in the US when it comes to fatality record, will be facing the inevitable legal consequences brought about by this unfortunate train accident.

Additional Train Safety Measures

I try to ask myself how one can really protect himself in a train accident. Knowing how massive and heavy a train is, a train accident is surely disastrous.

Reading the article, “Railroad Accident Lawyer Says: Buckle Your Seatbelts”, posted December 14, once again highlights safety measures when riding trains. The article focused on collisions and how passengers should protect themselves during such incidents.

The article reported that about 500 people are injured in train crashes every year and these injuries are often due to the lack of seatbelts in most trains. To illustrate how a train seatbelt can prevent injuries during accidents, experts from the Federal Railroad Association reportedly conducted a test using a dummy. The findings concluded that a seatbelt could help prevent passenger injuries during collisions or train accidents.

As an added safety feature, today’s trains have reportedly set up compartments to reduce the distance people would fly in the event of a major collision.

Other than injuries from collisions, railroad deaths also occur at crossings. These accidents often involved motorists who disobey traffic signs and railroad signals.

The article also pointed out that because of the structure of the tracks and signals, train collisions are nearly always due to negligence, either human error or faulty equipment.

While it cannot be discounted that the seatbelt is a good additional safety measure in trains, attention must also be given to the proper maintenance of railroad tracks and equipment. As many train accidents) may be attributed to the human factor, authorities must also make improvements on the conditions of our railroad tracks and equipment. We have to bear in mind that the safety of train passengers depends mostly on these mechanical parts that are often unseen and thus neglected.