Train Crash Into Semi Injures One
Michael Babboni
Personal Injury
We all are pretty aware of just how dangerous the railroad tracks can be. Trains are vehicles whose size and inertia make it deadly to anyone who may find themselves on the railroad tracks in the wrong place at the wrong time.Couldn’t the train just hit the brakes or swerve away? Unlike other modes of transportation, trains cannot immediately slow down for anything that may be in the way and they cannot swerve off of their train tracks to avoid your vehicle either. In fact, even if they could, it is very hard for train drivers to be able to see people or other vehicles on the railroad until it is too late. However, that is why it is so crucial that any railroad section that crosses over a public road is able to send out clear warning when the train is coming.
This well-known warning often comes with lights, an audio signal, and ‘arms’ that come down to block the way. With all of these signals, it should be clear when the train is coming and for vehicles to be stopped at a safe distance until it has passed. Yet, not every train stop has been updated with these safety warnings including one in Dade City.
An Accident In Industrial Park
In an industrial park north of downtown Dade City, the driver of a semitrailer truck has been seriously injured after they collided with the train.
According to the Pasco County officials, the semitrailer driver, 59 year old Jose Puig, had to be flown to Lakeland Regional Medical Center. Dade City police Chief Ray Velboom states that the injuries suffered by Puig, the driver for AAA Cooper Transportation, are not life threatening.
This accident had occurred at 10:25 a.m. in a crossing within the Dade City Business Center, an industrial park that can be found on Citrus County Drive near the intersection of Lock Street and U.S. 301. Velboom states that, because the railroad crossing was on private property, it did not have any lights, signals or arms to give warning of the coming train.
The train in question was around 1.3 miles long and had 115 total cars: 3 locomotives, 11 loaded cars, and 101 empty ones. According to Valboom, the impact of the train was able to separate the truck’s cab from the trailer and pushed them to opposite sides of the train. Afterward, it was the inertia that kept the train moving for another three quarters before it could finally stop.
The AAA Cooper Transportation truck drove by Puig was carrying containers filled with expired apple sauce that was on its way to a nearby recycling facility inside the industrial park.
The train, which is owned by CSX, was on its way north from Miami to Waycross, Ga. The chief states that it had pulled away around 5:30 p.m. after blocking the public railroad crossings at River Road and Martin Luther King Boulevard for most of the day.
Valboom states that CSX did not provide any details about the contents of their 11 loaded cars, but nothing had spilled from them nor were any of the cars derailed from the incident.
A Train Without Warning
While most trains would have been subjected to an upgrade in signals and warning ‘hands’, the fact that the area was on private property has caused it to neglect this feature entirely. Thus it was impossible for Puig to know of the dangers that lied ahead until it was too late.
However, railroad tracks that are on private property are illegal to use unless you are using a designated crossing. Whether Puig was legally in the right to drive over private property is still unknown and AAA Cooper Transportation has refused to comment on the incident. Illegal aside, it should be known that any railroad tracks that are on private property should be avoided as much as possible due to their lack of protective measures.
Luckily, Puig does not have any life threatening injuries from the event and will most likely make a full recovery.