Western Railroad Discussion > Train crashes into trailer carrying veterans

Anybody got any details?

MIDLAND, Texas - Organizer says train crashes into trailer carrying veterans during West Texas parade.

http://www.startribune.com/business/179467391.html?refer=y

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/organizer-says-train-crashes-into-trailer-carrying-veterans-during-west-texas-parade/2012/11/15/59c19dde-2f82-11e2-af17-67abba0676e2_story.html

http://www.chron.com/news/texas/article/Organizer-says-train-crashes-into-trailer-4041899.php

http://www.mywesttexas.com/top_stories/article_c16ee4ee-2f7a-11e2-a12b-0019bb2963f4.html



The Show of Support events for tonight and the weekend have been canceled after a train crash during Thursday’s parade.

There are four fatalities and 16 people have been transported to Midland Memorial Hospital, said Midland Chief of Police Price Robinson.

A float carrying veterans and their wives in the ninth annual Show of Support parade was struck by a eastbound train at the corner of Garfield Road and Industrial Avenue just before 5 p.m., Robinson said.

It is not expected those injured will need to be transferred from Midland Memorial Hospital, said hospital spokeswoman Marcy Madrid.

“All transports are complete and we have the resources and staff to take care of this,” Madrid said. “We do have the situation under control.”

The parade was supposed to end at the Horseshoe, where a Hunt for Heroes banquet was supposed to take place. Wounded service men were to be treated to an all-expenses paid white tail deer hunting trip today, while their spouses were treated to a variety of activities in Midland.

All of those events have been canceled, said Show of Support president and founder Terry Johnson.


Read more: Updated: 4 die during Show of Support Parade - Mywesttexas.com: Top Stories http://www.mywesttexas.com/top_stories/article_c16ee4ee-2f7a-11e2-a12b-0019bb2963f4.html#ixzz2CLBnMZ2N
Under Creative Commons License: Attribution

It's way west of DFW. Can't be Amtrak.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/15/12 16:30 by joemvcnj.

DALLAS -
Dozens of wounded warriors were involved in a horrible accident Thursday afternoon in West Texas.

The accident happened at about 5 p.m. in Midland during the "Hunt for Heroes" parade. A big rig that was carrying the veterans on a flat bed trailer was hit by a train.

There are conflicting reports about the crossing arms. Some witnesses said the arms were not coming down as the truck approached the crossing.


Police confirmed at least four people were killed. Sixteen others were taken to hospitals in Midland and nearby Odessa, 10 in critical condition.


Following the parade, the veterans were scheduled to leave for a deer-hunting trip while their wives were to be treated to a variety of activities. Those events were canceled.


Read more: http://www.myfoxdfw.com/story/20112489/train-kills-veterans-in-texas-parade#ixzz2CLEU4txk

Saw a photo on the news, it was a UP doublestack.

Midland is on the former T&P bwteeen Ft Worth and El Paso now owned by UP. Its a busy freight line, not one or two trains a day.

Somebody screwed up.

These days there are way to many in life that will tell you that , since " They " have not seen a Train on a Track, that No trains use that track anymore

And many do not even know the name of the RR in their City

Fox News reports the trailer got "stuck" on the tracks. Possibly shouldn't have been there in the first place???? Not enough ground clearance??? Of course the headline makes it look like it was somehow the trains fault.

All I can say is "OMG"

My thoughts and prayers to my fellow veterans.

Marty Harrison
Knob Noster, MO

Trains are somewhat frequent and travel at a pretty fair clip through Midland.

If a parade route was to intentionally cross the tracks, shouldn't someone have advised UP of this?

Sad incident, no matter who is at fault.

OFNEGATIVE Wrote:

> There are conflicting reports about the crossing
> arms. Some witnesses said the arms were not coming
> down as the truck approached the crossing.
>
>

Who cares??

Lights, gates, or just a crossbuck, when you are driving a vehicle with others in your care, you sure as he!! better make sure you look both ways at a railroad crossing. How did this person get a license to drive a truck?

Horrible incident... and totally unnecessary and preventable.

From this shot:

http://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/mywesttexas.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/c/9f/c9f1061a-2f7a-11e2-baf4-0019bb2963f4/50a57885f1069.image.jpg

It is pretty obvious that a road parallel to the railroad intersects with a road perpendicular to the railroad, which the truck was on (you can see the semi's exhaust stacks and sleeper sticking up behind the ambulance). My educated hypothesis is that the semi was stopped at the red traffic signal with the trailer over the railroad when the train showed up.

I hate to speculate, but what do you want to bet that there are at least one or two signs the driver passed that read "DO NOT STOP ON TRACKS"? Pretty much every crossing I can think of set up this way has this signage to protect the people not smart enough to figure that simple fact out on their own. If it got high centered, anybody driving truck should recognize that risk, and there are oftentimes signs pointing that little piece of information out.

Regardless, this is bad, and I hope the best for the folks involved.

Pump



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 11/15/12 18:27 by UPTRAIN.

P Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> OFNEGATIVE Wrote:
>
> > There are conflicting reports about the
> crossing
> > arms. Some witnesses said the arms were not
> coming
> > down as the truck approached the crossing.
> >
> >
>
> Who cares??
>


IF it's true that the gates never came down, I can guarantee you that a LOT of people will care.

zchcsse Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> P Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > OFNEGATIVE Wrote:
> >
> > > There are conflicting reports about the
> > crossing
> > > arms. Some witnesses said the arms were not
> > coming
> > > down as the truck approached the crossing.
> > >
> > >
> >
> > Who cares??
> >
>
>
> IF it's true that the gates never came down, I can
> guarantee you that a LOT of people will care.


Whether or not the gates work, it is utter stupidity to stop fouling a railroad track at a red light, but I see dumb drivers do it constantly.
It would be truly tragic if others paid the price for such idiocy in this case.

Just saw that the NTSB is getting involved in the investigation? Really? I can't wait to hear their "recommendations".

"NTSB recommends that every crossing within the United States be replaced with overpasses..."

Pump

My thoughts and prayers are with the train crew, as well as the other victims and heir families.

UPTRAIN Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Just saw that the NTSB is getting involved in the
> investigation? Really? I can't wait to hear
> their "recommendations".
>
> "NTSB recommends that every crossing within the
> United States be replaced with overpasses..."
>
> Pump


No. NTSB will want the FRA to pass a order requiring trains to stop at all grade crossings and proceed only when clear.

Those intermodal trains are moving pretty fast in that area also.

My heart goes out not only to the veterans and the family members who lost loved ones, but also to the crew of the train who felt helpless and had to experience the tragic event.

Ron Toman
Olathe, KS



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/15/12 18:14 by rlt4cats.

rlt4cats Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> My heart goes out not only to the veterans and the
> family members who lost loved ones, but also to
> the crew of the train who felt helpless and had to
> live through the tragic event.


+1 on that. Terrible for everyone