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This link from NBC 11 tells about today's tragic accident:http://www.nbc11.com/news/5376344/detail.html.
Apperantly a babysitter was with a toddler when she left the toddler unattended and he wandered onto the tracks at about 11 AM this morning. The Coastal Starlight departed San Jose at 10:50AM and the accident happened by Blossom Hill Road. I know this area quite well. The investigation took a long time and the train is now estimated to arrive LA around 3 :20 AM on 11-22. What a tragic accident. You should never ever play around the tracks, I think the sitter should be charged for neglicane because she knew they were around a railraoad track and to be extra careful.
The train could have been going at 79 miles an hour. Please send your prayers and sympathy to the family. Noone else was hurt.
George Harris Member # 2077
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While this may seem unsypathetic, what is the point of the "several hours delay" to the train? Once they take their pictures, make sure that the body is recovered, and a replacement engineer is available, if the person wants to be relieved, they should let the train go. I see this hold the train for several hours more and more. It just seems to be a mindless abuse of police power without concern for the people affected or how severely. With the two accidents of which I am directly familiar when a teenager in the early 60's (One because I lived near the location, the other I was a passenger on the train. One had a fatality, the other did not), the delay was only on the order of one hour.
George
CoastStarlight99 Member # 2734
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I agree with you George, this happens to often for it to take that long to leave the sight.
Travelplus, according to Amtrak Train Status, this train is "only" 3hrs and 24mins late.
From Amtrak: Estimated arrival: 3 hours and 24 minutes late.
As of the last report at 8:10 pm between San Luis Obispo, CA (SLO) and Santa Barbara, CA (SBA), it was running 3 hours and 40 minutes late.
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Well I think they shouldn't hold a train once they all signed off what a waste of time. I feel sorry for the family of the toddler but am aslo sympathetic to the passengers onboard. In a sense it happened in a metropolitan area so they have access to Amtrak police etc. If it had happened in between a town then it may be harder to fix the situation.
vline Member # 1132
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Hello George Harris and all interested. Even here in Australia, when an incident like this occurs where there is a death, either on a road, railway etc. The scene as to be secured for the Coroner to enable an investigation to take place. Also, I believe in your country the Federal Government has an agency that looks into all transport fatalities. It's not a matter of hosing away the debris to let the train finish its journey, there is a procedure that needs to take place in all fatalities. Mike in Australia.
George Harris Member # 2077
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Mike: We are aware of this. We are only saying that they take way too much time in the process. There is no reason to take four hours to do what could be done in one. George
CoastStarlight99 Member # 2734
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That link to the video doesnt work for me.
Railroad Bob Member # 3508
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quote:Originally posted by vline: hosing away the debris
Love that choice of words...but like George and others have said, it's a matter of the local authorities doing the formal investigation; in the case of a death on the railroad it is the County Coroner's office. Part of the delays are getting the proper people physically onto the scene. If the Coroner or his/her reps are busy elsewhere, that can add some response time. I've seen fatalities handled in about 90 minutes when everyone was quickly available and the case was pretty clear-cut, and others go as long as 4-5 hours. Holiday accidents usually take longer to process. It's different in other countries; for example, I was once on a mainland Chinese train that whacked a bicyclist. We took about a 20 minute "hit." Locals came and extracted the bicycle from the locomotive and as you say, hosed away the debris. Wonder if the bicyclist's family and lawyers got any money from the Chinese government? I think the Chinese trains are government-controlled; pretty hard to sue Beijing.
Railroad Bob Member # 3508
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quote:Originally posted by vline: I believe in your country the Federal Government has an agency that looks into all transport fatalities.
Right, Mike, but I do not believe the NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board) looks into or handles fatalities on the tracks, unless the train actually derails or otherwise wrecks. And the FRA (Federal Railroad Administration) won't either, unless they become involved in safety issues or procedural recommendations. Maybe others can further clarify the various Federal agencies responsibilities...
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