FELA Lawyer News Blog

Archive for 2011

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

KILLEEN, TX – Joe Faust, a spokesperson for Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF), gave an accounting to local news KXXV about a BNSF train that collided with a garbage truck on Monday morning, May 30.

Faust said the collision happened on the College Street crossing of the tracks near Avenue E in Killeen shortly after 11 A.M. No one was hurt in the crash and no hazardous chemicals spilled from the train either. ... Read More

San Antonio FELA lawyer, Bryan Cartall, 61, was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit bribery in a case in Cleveland, Ohio and faces up to five years in federal prison if convicted.

Cartall faces the criminal charge of paying a cash bribe to two railroad union officials so that injured union members would seek representation from his firm. ... Read More

BOONE, IA – A railroad worker had an arm amputated following a train accident in Boone, IA on May 23, 2011.

Union Pacific Locomotive

Boone is located in Boone County, Iowa in the central part of the state about 50 miles northwest of Des Moines. ... Read More

REESEVILLE, WI – Two people were killed in a crash between an Amtrak passenger train and a pickup truck on May 21, 2011 in the village of Reeseville, WI.

Scattered wreckage and a fire that destroyed railroad crossing signal equipment in the aftermath of a Wisconsin Amtrak train crash that left two people dead on Saturday, May 21, 2011. Photo credit: Dodge County Sheriff's Department

Reeseville is located in Dodge County, Wisconsin in the southeastern part of the state, about 46 miles southwest of Fond du Lac. ... Read More

PASCO, WA – According to news reports, a Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad carrying about 25,000 gallons chemicals, derailed on Sunday, May 15, at around 5:00 p.m. near Pasco, Washington.

BNSF Spokesman Gus Melonas told the media that several freight cars derailed while moving less than 5 mph during a switching operation. Seven cars derailed from the tracks, causing nearly 12,500 gallons of hydrochloric acid onto the ground by 9:30 p.m. No injuries were reported at the time of the incident. ... Read More

HOBOKEN, NJ – A PATH commuter train (Port Authority Trans-Hudson) pulled into the Hoboken, NJ terminal and crashed into the terminal platform injuring dozens of passengers and derailing in the process.

Emergency personnel near the entrance to the PATH station in Hoboken, NJ where commuter train crashed into terminal abutment on May 8, 2011. Photo credit: Julia Xanthos/News

Hoboken is located in Hudson County New Jersey in the northeastern part of the state about 9 1/2 miles northeast of Newark. ... Read More