FELA Lawyer News Blog

Archive for June, 2011

NEW CASTLE, DE -  An accident occurred on Monday afternoon, June 27, when a Norfolk Southern Railroad, originally mistaken for an Amtrak train, plowed into a tractor trailer in New Castle, Del. Monday afternoon, authorities say.

NBC Philadelphia were told by Delaware Fire dispatchers that the train was an Amtrak, but Amtrak confirmed that it was not one of their trains. Police corrected the report stating that it was Norfolk Southern. ... Read More

RENO, NV – The Amtrak conductor who was killed in last Friday’s deadly Reno train accident with an 18 wheeler truck has been identified as Amtrak employee, Laurette Lee.

Amtrak told KOLO 8 News that Lee was a conductor and a long-time employee. She began working with the company in 1988 and worked out of Amtrak’s Reno crew base. ... Read More

WASHINGTON – In the case of CSX TRANSPORTATION, INC. v. MCBRIDE, 10-235, a ruling was handed down today by the U.S. Supreme Court against CSX Railroad in their bid to make it harder for railroad workers to win lawsuits that would hold the company responsible for injuries they suffered on the job.

The court, in a 5-to-4 opinion by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, upheld a $184,000 court award to CSX railroad engineer Robert McBride, who said he injured his hand while adding and removing railroad cars. ... Read More

EL PASO, TX – An accident involving a Union Pacific train and 18 wheeler truck occurred on Monday morning on June 20, at about 8:30 a.m. in El Paso’s Lower Valley.

El Paso police told KFOX14 they believe the driver of the semi-truck tried to beat an oncoming train at the Alameda and Inglewood railroad crossing. ... Read More

CLAIBORNE COUNTY, TN -  A man from the Tiprell community of Claiborne County who was distraught over the loss of his friend, opened fire on two employees of Norfolk Southern Railroad when their train was stopped on the tracks.

Mark Anthony Bruce charged with aggravated assault for shooting at two NS railroad workers.

The incident occurred on Thursday, June 2, when Claiborne 911 received reports of a shooting in the Tiprell community, according to Sheriff David Ray. Officers of the Claiborne County Sheriff’s Office along with Detective Bob Morelock arrived shortly after and immediately launched an investigation. ... Read More

PLANADA, CA – Steven Miller, a 23-year-old from Trinity County who was staying in Planada, was killed on Monday, June 6, by an Amtrak passenger train traveling 70 mph near Childs Avenue and Santa Fe Drive. He was believed to be chasing his dog, said Deputy Tom MacKenzie, a sheriff’s spokesman.

Miller’s death occurred along a stretch of railroad tracks notorious for pedestrian traffic and has some residents questioning whether safety improvements are needed to prevent future incidents.

A week before, a 41-year-old man was killed as he drove over a private railroad crossing between Arboleda and Plainsburg roads.

The two fatalities are only the most recent tragedies to occur on railroad tracks in the Planada area. The death of a 10-year-old boy who was killed while walking near the tracks in 2006 still haunts many residents. ... Read More

PLANADA, CA – A 23 year old man was struck and killed by an Amtrak passenger train on June 6, 2011 while crossing the tracks in the small town of Planada, CA.

Rescue workers remove the body of the victim who was struck by an Amtrak passenger train in Planada, CA on June 6, 2011.

Planada is located in Merced County, California in the central part of the state, about 10 miles east of Merced. ... Read More

TAUNTON, MA – A CSX train derailed in Taunton MA on June 1, 2011 where thieves made off with a section of railroad track apparently for the steel.

CSX official looking at derailed engine sitting in the dirt and a section of track that was cut away by thieves in Taunton, MA on Wednesday, June 1, 2011. Detail clearly shows that a cutting torch was used in the crime. Photo credit: Charles Winokoor/Taunton Gazette

Taunton is located in Bristol County, Massachusetts in the southern part of the state about 38 miles south of Boston. ... Read More

MINERAL SPRINGS, N.C. – Two CSX crew members were killed and two others were injured when two CSX trains collided in the Mineral Springs community of Union County.

Two CSX trains collide in Mineral Springs, NC. Photo: NewsChannel36

According to NewsChannel 36, the two trains collided Tuesday, May 31, at about 3:38 a.m. in Mineral Springs. Both CSX trains were on the northbound track. One was idle when it was hit from behind by the second train. Nine cars derailed in the accident. ... Read More