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Weekend Train-Pedestrian Crash Makes 3 in Two Months
The consequences of trespassing can result in much more than a fine. Three people have been hit by Amtrak trains in Santa Barbara County in the past two months, all seeming to be accidental collisions.
There are about 500 trespassing deaths a year nationally, and California and Texas have the highest rate of incidents. Those who trespass go onto railroad property such as tracks without permission, according to the Federal Railroad Administration.
California has the highest usage of Amtrak of any state in the United States, and the Pacific Surfliner route — from San Diego to San Luis Obispo — is the second-busiest corridor in the country.
People often cross tracks in nondesignated areas to take shortcuts, according to the FRA Web site, but whatever the reason, they don’t know train schedules and are more susceptible to accidents.
“People see the train coming toward them and underestimate the speed,” Graham said. “It’s a ridiculous thing to try and beat — just wait a few minutes and it’ll pass.”
Murtaza Kassim Ali, 38, of Goleta was hit and killed about 6 p.m. Sunday while checking on a campsite near Refugio State Beach, authorities said. The oncoming Amtrak train was unable to stop in time, and Ali was hit and died from his injuries before medical personnel arrived, said Drew Sugars, the Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Department’s public information officer. The Coroner’s Bureau will conduct toxicology tests as standard procedure.
An unidentified 27-year-old woman was hit and injured July 20 while attempting to cross the tracks in Gaviota. She was taken to Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital, where she later died.
A 43-year-old San Francisco man was struck and injured when he tried to beat a train June 17 while traveling with his family, according to the Santa Maria Times. He attempted to cross the tracks and his arm was clipped by the passing train.
Amtrak trains usually travel at a maximum of 79 miles per hour and take the length of three football fields to come to a full stop, Amtrak spokesperson Vernae Graham said.
In the case of Monday’s accident, the train was traveling about 50 mph, she said. However, speed isn’t much of an issue — a person is unlikely to survive getting hit no matter the speed, she said.
In California, most of the track that Amtrak trains travel on — owned by about six railroad operators including Union Pacific and Metrolink — doesn’t have fences or barriers. Amtrak tries to do rail safety in communities where trains go through heavily populated areas, Graham said.
Amtrak uses rail safety programs such as Operation Lifesaver and collaboration with local law enforcements for communities where trains go through heavily populated areas.
Separated grades — having the train tracks in a trench or raised, such as those near Fresno State and in downtown Reno — help decrease collisions.
Although Graham knows of no official statistics, most accidents occur in areas with heavy foot traffic, including the San Francisco Bay Area and Old Town San Diego.
When train operators see something or someone on or near the tracks, they apply the brakes and notify the train crew that there could be a collision, Graham said. The conductor is typically the first person on the ground, finds the point of impact and relays the information to emergency personnel.
Sometimes after a collision, the train’s crew is sent home and counselors follow up with the employees for the next few days, Graham said.
The crew of an Amtrak train in East Bay were relieved of their duties after the train hit and killed two people in the same day in early July. Both victims were trespassing on the tracks and were hit near the Berkeley and Oakland Amtrak stations. A third person was hit just a few days afterward, and two of the three incidents were determined to be suicides.
“You can’t swerve off the tracks — you see (something) ahead of you and wait for impact,” Graham said.
There are more casualties from trespasser incidents than from highway-rail crossings collisions. According to FRA statistics, the trespasser casualty rate is 0.96 per 1 million train miles, and a 2008 survey of coroners around the country stated the average trespasser is a 38-year-old Caucasian man under the influence of drugs or alcohol with a median household income of $36,000.
Accident rates between passenger and freight trains differ, depending on time of day mostly. There are three times as many freight trains as passenger trains on the tracks, and Amtrak trains don’t usually run at night unless they’re long distance.
“People are just trying to cross and miscalculate,” Graham said. “When it’s coming toward you like that, you can’t see it — just headlights.”
The FRA offers tips to avoid becoming a trespasser statistic, including never to walk over rail bridges or tunnels; never climb on or around moving or stationary rail cars; don’t try to beat a train at a crossing as the speed is difficult or impossible to estimate; cross tracks only at designated areas; and don’t stand too close to tracks when a train is coming, since trains are at least 3 feet wider than the tracks on each side.
— Noozhawk staff writer Giana Magnoli can be reached at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).
Comments
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» on 07.28.09 @ 08:25 AM
Tine to erect that suicide barrier along the entire Southern Pacific Right of Way?
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» on 07.28.09 @ 09:02 AM
Either stupidity or suicidal intent is to blame. Trains don’t kill people, people make bad choices. Train control is not the answer. Please don’t fence them in. Train control is not the answer. Every American has the inalienable right to cross the tracks unimpeded, no matter their intent.
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» on 07.28.09 @ 11:09 AM
This is so incredibly sad! Until a few weeks ago I couldn’t imagine how a person could fail to see an oncoming train. But I was on my way to a walk on the beach at Santa Claus and before crossing the tracks I looked one way but not the other way—I guess I was preoccupied. When I was part way across the tracks I realized a freight train was coming from the opposite direction . . . FAST. I hurried across but almost didn’t make it. I now understand how it can happen and I make sure I look BOTH ways every time I cross railroad tracks.
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» on 08.12.09 @ 01:22 PM
my son got kill by atrain 6/22/09 he was22years old he was taking the short cut for abaut amoth until the day he got struck by the train I STILL CANT NOT BILEVE THIS HAS HAPPEN TO HIM HE WAS ALWAYS SO EASY GOING THIS IS UMBILIVEBLE
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