FELA Lawyer News Blog

Archive for the ‘Train Accidents’ Category

WATSONVILLE, CA – A train brake operator was injured when an 18 wheeler big-rig was torn in two Thursday afternoon on April 15, 2010 when it collided with a train on West Beach Street. The truck strew hundreds of gallon buckets filled with frozen strawberries across the road, blocking traffic for about five hours.

The truck driver was traveling eastbound on West Beach Street near Industrial Road around noon, Watsonville police officer Lee Katich said. The train was backing up on the north side of West Beach, heading south. The semi truck was traveling slower than the speed limit witnesses told officers, before it crashed into the train. ... Read More

SWEDEBORG, MO — On April 6, 2010, a Burlington Northern Santa Fe train derailed around 9:30 a.m. Tuesday morning, forcing the evacuation of Pulaski County elementary school children. The train derailment occurred in Swedeborg near the intersection of Highway T and Missouri Route 133.

Troop I of the Missouri Highway Patrol reported that 15 cars were off the tracks and that 8 of those were on their sides. ... Read More

ROANOKE, VA – A Roanoke HAZMAT team was called to the scene after a Norfolk Southern railcar released vapors on Tuesday, April 6.

Roanoke firefighters closed a 14-block stretch of Shenandoah Avenue when the railcar in the adjacent Norfolk Southern yard released a gaseous irritant into the air, authorities said. The Roanoke HAZMAT team blocked adjacent Shenandoah Ave. ... Read More

LEE, MA – Seven Housatonic Railroad freight cars derailed in Lee, Massachusetts on Monday, March 29, 2010 around 8 p.m. Two of the freight cars tipped over onto their sides, one of them that was loaded with lumber fell into the Housatonic River.

Seven freight cars derailed at the Pine Street crossing in Lee, Massachusetts on Monday, March 29, 2010. Photo credit: Massachusetts Department of Fire Services Hazmat Team.

Lee is in western Massachusetts, about 125 miles west of Boston, about 42 miles northwest of Springfield, about 105 miles west of Framingham and about 91 miles west of Worcester. ... Read More

GLADSTONE, VA – A CSX train carrying coal derailed around 12:45 a.m. on Thursday, April 1, 2010 in Gladstone, Virginia just south of Norwood. Norwood is located in the central part of the state about 180 miles northwest of Norfolk, about 85 miles west of Richmond, and about 34 miles northeast of Lynchburg.

A CSX train carrying coal derailed just after midnight Thursday morning along Norwood Road in Nelson County, Virginia. Photo credit: Lee Luther Jr.

In the incident, 22 cars that were carrying coal overturned when a train belonging to CSX jumped the tracks and overturned. The mishap occurred south of Variety Mills Road along a section of track that runs alongside Norwood Road. Coal spilled within 500 feet of a tributary of the James River and, according to officials, the coal spill did contaminate the waterway.  ... Read More

WATERLOO, IN – On Friday evening, March 26, 2010, a train on the way to Michigan derailed in Waterloo, Indiana and spilled 5500 tons of coal. Waterloo is located in the north eastern part of the state about 152 miles north east of Indianapolis and about 25 miles north of Fort Wayne.

View of Friday's train derailment in Waterloo, IN from the intersection of Center St and Van Vleek. Photo credit: Freda Dickey

Thirty eight Norfolk Southern cars derailed in the mishap. According to a company spokesman, the train was headed from Chicago, IL to Monroe, MI. Although there is no official word on the cause of the accident, the Waterloo town board president said that the cause may have been due to a broken axle on one of the train cars. A spokesperson from Norfolk-Southern could not confirm this, however. ... Read More

HUNT VALLEY, MD – The conductor of a light rail train was injured Tuesday morning, March 23, 2010 when a trailer truck collided with the train in Baltimore County, Maryland. The truck accident happened in Hunt Valley, near Cockeysville, where the railroad tracks intersect with Gilroy Road. The accident area is in the north part of the Baltimore metro region, 110 miles southwest of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and 63 miles north of Washington, DC.

The impact of the truck collision trapped the train conductor in the crushed lead rail car. The conductor has been identified as 51 year old Deborah Morton. Local emergency personnel responded to the truck accident scene and worked to extricate her.

Shortly before 9:30 a.m. Tuesday morning, March 23rd, a tractor trailer truck owned by Laurel, MD based John W. Ritter Trucking Company was headed north on Gilroy Road in Baltimore County, MD. The truck was driven by 53 year old Mark Szurek who was headed to the McCormick’s Hunt Plant in Hunt Valley, hauling a load of plastic containers. ... Read More

ALEXANDRIA, MO – Freight cars from the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway BNSF derailed in Alexandria, Missouri on Saturday, March 27, 2010 at about 2:30 pm. The railway cars were carrying coal from Wyoming and were heading to the St. Louis area. The derailment involved 22 out of the 135 cars on the train that included 3 engines. Fourteen railway cars were mangled in the derailment.

22 cars involved in Alexandria, MO train derailment. Photo credit: Steve Bohnstedt/Herald-Whig

According to Steve Forsberg, a spokesman from the BNSF Railway, the cause of the derailment has not been determined. Forsberg is the general director of public affairs for BNSF. ... Read More