October 4th, 2010 | 
Author: PLAINS TOWNSHIP, PA – A Wilkes-Barre man was injured when the ATV he was riding crashed into a Canadian Pacific Railway train in Plains Township, PA on Saturday, October 2, 2010.
Injured ATV rider wheeled into waiting ambulance following crash with train near Wilkes-Barre, PA. Photo credit: Sherry Long/The Times Leader
Plains Township is in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania in the eastern part of the state, about 9 miles east of Wilkes-Barre.
The accident happened at about 3:35 p.m. on railroad property near the Cross Valley Expressway overpass where Plains Township borders with Wilkes-Barre.
Location of ATV crash with train in Plains Township, PA near the border with Wilkes-Barre, PA.
The injured man was identified as 23 year-old Brandon Cook, from Wilkes-Barre, PA. He was off-roading on his ATV on a path near the tracks when he came too close to the train and struck one of the rail cars of the northbound train.
Railroad officials pointed out that Cook was tresspassing on railway property where he was riding and he was driving his vehicle somewhere he shouldn’t have been.
The accident site was inaccessible to Emergency Response vehicles due to the rough terrain, but a Plains Township policeman was able reach the injured man with a 4WD sport utility vehicle.
The officer put him in the trunk area of the vehicle, and then transported him to a waiting ambulance near the intersection of Main Street and North Washington Street in Wilkes-Barre. Cook was then transported to Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center in Plains Township.
Emergency Response vehicles wait near Main Street and North Washington to receive injured ATV rider. Photo credit: Pete G. Wilcox/The Times Leader
Although the extent of Cook’s injuries was not known, it is reported that they were non-life threatening.
No railroad workers were injured in the incident.
The train was carrying consumer goods and empty grain cars from Allentown, PA to Binghamton, NY. Cook’s ATV struck the side of the train at the 5th car in the accident.
The train had a two-member crew at the time. After the collision, they immediately stopped the train and called for help. Railroad officials said that train crews don’t expected this kind of situation to happen because it wasn’t at a railroad crossing.
It is noteworthy that about an hour after the incident, ATVs could be heard riding in the area. According to reports, the trail system in the area is a very popular.
The train remained stopped on the tracks until about 6:45 p.m. Saturday evening while the scene was being investigated by Canadian Pacific Railway law enforcement officials.
The accident remains under investigation.
Published by FELA lawyer Gordon & Elias, LLP
Posted in Canadian Pacific Railway, Railroad Workers, Train Accidents | 
Tags: Railroad Injury Lawyer