Eastern Railroad Discussion > Ohio Crossing crash

I heard on Cincy radio WLW of a rail crossing fatality in Northwest Ohio. 4 killed, 1 injured please advise any info RR type of crossing etc.

It happened near DeGraff,OH at the township road 208 crossing with CSX. Here's a link from MSNBC Columbus if it works.

http://www.msnbc.com/local/wcmh/A1315138.asp

Baltimore

<<http://www.msnbc.com/local/wcmh/A1315138.asp&gt;&gt;

DeGraff is on the "Bee Line" (see July 2002 CTC Board for an article), ex-Conrail, exxx-NYC line between Indianapolis and Cleveland.

BobE

The MSNBC article says "...there was no indication that the train was going faster than the 60-mph speed limit." What??? Let's find something wrong with the train/crew?

No mention that the driver of the pickup stupidly pulled in front of a moving train. There must be a lot of Darwin candidates out there that think maybe the train will swerve around THEM???

My condolences to the crew and the survivors...

Paul

I was at the scene of this accident, and in 29 years as a firefighter I've never seen worse. I only hope that the train crew can somehow get through this.

Does anyone happen to know what train it was? Q#?

ghspaul wrote:

> The MSNBC article says "...there was no indication that the
> train was going faster than the 60-mph speed limit." What???
> Let's find something wrong with the train/crew?
>

Don't be so heavy-handed now Paul, at least they are establishing from the get-go the 'probability' that the train wasn't at fault. It may seem asinine to those who understand railroads, but I didn't see anything negative towards the railroad implied from this statement. I feel terrible for the kid that was riding in the back, his/her parents/guardians tried real hard to end his/her life by A) letting them ride in the bed B) pulling out in front of that train

From the Associated Press, via the _Dayton Daily News_:

http://www.activedayton.com/ddn/local/daily/0909rrcrash.html

>>
Four dead, one injured in train-truck collision
Associated Press

DeGRAFF, Ohio | A fiery collision between a train and pickup truck killed four people and injured another Sunday afternoon at a railroad crossing near this western Ohio village.

The injured victim was thrown from the back of the pickup, and the dead were trapped in the wreckage, Logan County Sheriff Michael Henry said.

Henry said the accident happened at 12:40 p.m. at a railroad crossing near Township Road 208 in Pleasant Township.

The injured person was flown to Children&#8217;s Hospital in Columbus.

....
Henry said crews were trying to remove the victims from the wreckage several hours after the crash.

....
&#8216;&#8216;We are going to have a hard time identifying these people and attempting to notify next of kin,&#8217;&#8217; Henry said.

The railroad crossing did not have warning lights, Henry said.

The 42-car CSX train was traveling from St. Louis to Boston, CSX spokesman Bob Sullivan said. Sullivan said there was no indication that the train was going faster than the 60-mph speed limit.

DeGraff is 40 miles northeast of Dayton.
<<

I can't believe they're coming back to the ole' "If only there was a light or bell or something." Railroad crossings should be treated as a yield sign, and they need to stop printing the defences of these idiots.

My condolences to the crew. I can't imagine looking down on that for a mile. Its bad enough for a few hundred feet...


CR

Plantman wrote:

> I feel terrible for the
> kid that was riding in the back, his/her parents/guardians
> tried real hard to end his/her life by A) letting them ride in
> the bed B) pulling out in front of that train
>
> [%sig%]


Actually, riding in the back of the truck actually saved his life. That is where I would have wanted to be if I was in that vehicle. He's probably pretty messed up, though, but at least he's alive.

> Actually, riding in the back of the truck actually saved his
> life. That is where I would have wanted to be if I was in that
> vehicle. He's probably pretty messed up, though, but at least
> he's alive.
>
> [%sig%]

Ugh, wouldnt that just make it worse if you were riding in the back of it?? I mean if it hits the truck dont you think youd have a greater chance of being thrown out of the truck and possible getting hit or clipped by the train? Just a thought...


CSX Jr

Is De Graff one of those "whistle free" towns?
If not, then there was ample warning from the engine itself via both bell and whistle. Also, if as the lady is quoted as saying, that there is a considerable amount of vegetation partially obscuring a motorist's field of vision. Then it behooves the motorist to take extra precautions before attempting to cross the track! I feel sorry for the injured child and the relatives of the deceased and in some respects to the deceased passengers (perhaps it was only the operator who was Hell-bent on destruction).

Just my opinion,

BaltoJoey

The 5th victim, who was riding in the truck bed, died today of his injuries at Childrens Hospital in Columbus. The other 4 victims were 2 adults and two children, all believed to have died on impact.

It is reported that he was the only one to see the train and that he tried to warn the driver prior to impact.

The train was a westbound piggy back train with 4 AC's...the crossing is on a hard (i.e. 45 degree) angle and did have vegitation near by.

Eric

CG Tower

The pig train was an eastbound...here is a link to the local NBC affiliate:

http://www.nbc4columbus.com/news/1655985/detail.html

The train was probably Q116, a St. Louis-Boston trailer train. I heard some chatter related to train movements while I was driving within radio range on I-75 Sunday afternoon, and thought it unusual at that time of day for Q116 to be mentioned as being on that part of the railroad. Now I know why...

I doubt any sort of whistle ordinance was in effect at the site. In the immediate vicinity of DeGraff the railroad is well grade-separated, since the town is in a valley and the tracks are climbing Bellefontaine Hill. But there are numerous rural grade crossings farther up the hill, which would correspond with the mileposts that were being discussed on the radio.

I wouldn't exactly call DeGraff "northwest" Ohio, but by the standards of the Cincinnati media I suppose it is. From a geographic standpoint it's west-central Ohio.

Degraff is a small rown in west-central Ohio. THe site of the crash is a rural area a few miles east of DeGraff. The site is on a little used township road usually used only by the few people plewho live there. The people in the truck lived at least 10 miles from the scene.

WHy do these things happen?

W8PRR

What a sad, sad event. Watching that news clip just made me sick.

My comment earlier on the kid being better off in the bed of the pickup was in relation to this case only, not in general. I guess it didn't matter now that he has passed on.

There was a news article a week or so ago that the state of Ohio put out a new version of the videotape that they show in drivers ed. This is the tape that shows all of the blood, guts & dead bodies as the result of poor driving decisions. It's too bad that this clip won't make it into the tape as teens need to learn to respect trains & STOP, LOOK and LISTEN before crossing rr tracks.
If you don't, it could quickly cost you your life.

My thoughts & prayers to those that have to deal with this event.

3 crossbucks and a crossing signal destroyed while flagging the Raymond St. crossing here in Indy during switching of the Roll and Hold Co. (during one 12 hour shift) as people tried to beat the train. Everyone is in too much of a hurry, taking too many risks.

Older heads at CR adivsed me of the old NYC safety rule: If it's not safe, DON'T DO IT ! This is good rule for motorists, too.

Everyone involved or associated with the DeGraff trajedy is a victim, they all have my sympathy. I call on the media and law enforcement to educate the public of the serious dangers in trying to outrun a train. Enforcement of crossing signal violations must also be increased.
Life is too precious to waste on saving moments.

MidFan