Passenger Trains > One dead after being struck by Crescent 20(28) on Thu.

One dead after being struck by Amtrak train
Culpeper Star Exponent
by Jeff Say
Thursday, August 29, 2013

> A 19-year-old Culpeper man was struck and killed by an Amtrak
> passenger train Thursday morning.
>
> According to Culpeper Town Police, at about 8:02 a.m., the Amtrak
> Crescent Train #20, headed from New Orleans to New York, departed
> the Culpeper depot after picking up three passengers.
>
> As the train picked up speed, the crew noticed three men on the
> tracks about 150 yards north of the intersection of Fairfax Street,
> which runs parallel to the tracks, with Wine Street.
>
> The train sounded its horn and began to brake as two of the men on
> the tracks safely crossed the track the train was travelling upon.
> The third man on the tracks continued to sit on the tie and did not
> move, according to police.
>
> The train struck the man, who was pronounced dead at the scene by
> paramedics responding to the accident.

> Town of Culpeper police identified the 19-year-old man struck by an
> Amtrak train Thursday as Elijah Rivera, no fixed address.

One dead after being struck by Amtrak train


FOUR trespasser fatalities and one injury involving Amtrak trains in two days!



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 08/30/13 20:09 by GenePoon.

This article notes that a motorist was injured a few years ago at this same crossing when he tried to beat a train in his pick-up truck; amazingly, this same motorist's grandmother was killed at the same crossing over 20 years ago when she, too, did not stop at the crossing.

A slightly higher frequency of these incidents, and all the usual breakdowns, etc. and travel by rail may not be worth the effort.

And New Jersey Transit had two recently--and most of their trains are the kind that people ride every day, not just on vacation trips. Not sure if there's been a "scientific" study, or if there's just more news coverage, but it seems like between jumping in front of a train and self-inflicted gunshot wounds, and even one person who reportedly jumped in front a big-rig truck, there are a lot of despondent people out there. (and yes, in this report, it appears that the deceased didn't jump, he just refused to move.)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 08/30/13 23:55 by DNRY122.

DNRY122 Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> And New Jersey Transit had two recently--and most
> of their trains are the kind that people ride
> every day, not just on vacation trips. Not sure
> if there's been a "scientific" study, or if
> there's just more news coverage, but it seems like
> between jumping in front of a train and
> self-inflicted gunshot wounds, and even one person
> who reportedly jumped in front a big-rig truck,
> there are a lot of despondent people out there.
> (and yes, in this report, it appears that the
> deceased didn't jump, he just refused to move.)

I overheard some discussion by a suicide prevention office on statistics where I work. They were comparing numbers where suicides happen in countries where guns are readily available vs countries where they are hard to get. In the US, where guns are relatively easy to obtain, the suicide by train rate is lower vs gun suicides; in countries with hard to get guns, suicide by train is much higher.

korotaj Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> A slightly higher frequency of these incidents,
> and all the usual breakdowns, etc. and travel by
> rail may not be worth the effort.


Beats standing in line for a plane any day.