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Don't go around train crossing gates when down.

D

DCal430

Diamond Member
It can have dearly consequences.


Two adults and an 18-month-old child were killed Saturday afternoon when a light-rail train collided with their sport-utility vehicle in south Sacramento.

A fourth person in the SUV suffered serious injuries and was taken to a local hospital, police said.

Regional Transit officials said it was possibly the worst light-rail accident in the system's 25-year history.

The train, carrying about 50 passengers, was southbound on the Meadowview line at 4:10 p.m. when it hit the SUV on 26th Avenue and pushed it 20 yards. The train stayed on the tracks, but the SUV flipped upside down, said Sgt. Andrew Pettit, Sacramento police spokesman.

"It sounded like an explosion," said Barbara Rodriguez, who was inside her house nearby when the accident occurred.

One of Rodriguez's relatives and a friend ran toward the accident and tried to help.

"They saw a baby," Rodriguez said. "They saw a lady and a gentleman. They were deceased. Another lady was still alive. They tried to cut her out … . Then the police arrived."

Seventeen passengers on the train were hurt, though most of the injuries were minor, Pettit said. Three adult passengers and three juvenile passengers were taken to UC Davis Medical Center. All were in fair condition Saturday night, said Phyllis Brown, hospital spokeswoman.

"All you heard is 'boom,' and you saw the car flip," said passenger D'Angelo Charles, 13, who was jolted by the impact into a pole inside the train. He was at UC Davis Medical Center on Saturday night receiving treatment for a sore lower back, neck and headache.

The crossing bars were down and warning lights were blinking when the driver of the SUV, a Nissan Pathfinder, steered around another car and then around the bars, said Mike Wiley, Regional Transit's general manager.

"The train ran directly into the side of the SUV," said Wiley, who said he has seen video from the crossing taken as the accident occurred. "The train operator applied the emergency brake just before impact.

"There are sound walls on their side of the tracks, so visibility is limited, and the train was traveling 50 to 55 miles per hour."

The crossing bars had been down for a while because three trains were passing by one after the other, Pettit said.

"I don't think the arms went up" as each train passed, Pettit said. "The three trains – that might have been a factor."

Sound walls around the tracks made it hard for drivers to see whether a train was actually coming, Regional Transit officials and neighbors said. "You can't see there unless you are right on the tracks," said Antonio Rodriguez, Barbara's husband.

Rodriguez and his neighbors said they've noticed cars drive around the barriers several times during the last few months and worried that something might happen.

"Why would anyone with a baby in the car risk it?" asked Richard Sanchez, who lives near the crossing.

Wiley, the RT manager, said, "There is no problem with this intersection."

Trains traveling 55 mph are common "where spacing between stations is enough to attain those speeds," said Mark Lonergan, RT operations chief. "The gates are timed to block the streets at those speeds. If an operator goes slower, the gates would be down too long."

Train service south of the Sacramento City College stop was halted but likely will resume this morning, Lonergan said.

Lonergan's employees were examining the tracks and testing safety equipment Saturday night. As they worked, the crossing bar lowered repeatedly, ringing the alarm.

A few feet away, someone had placed three lighted candles.
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I don't know what this person was thinking, but it is a shame the baby had to die for ther stupidity.
 
DCal430 said:
I don't know what this person was thinking, but it is a shame the baby had to die for ther stupidity.
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Around hear I see people jaywalking across busy 6 lane roads with 45 mph speed limits while pushing strollers or dragging a toddler in each hand. They often do it in the dark, away from street lamps so it's almost impossible to see them until you're really close. What makes it even worse is that they are usually only about 100 feet from a cross walk. I get pissed when I see them risk their kids' lives like that. If you want to get hit by a car that's your business but if you want to risk your kid's life to save yourself a few minutes you don't deserve to be a parent.
 
Just last weekend I watched a dufus drive around the gates. We also have a crossing about a hundred feet before an intersection with traffic lights. Idiots stop on the tracks all the time waiting for the red light to change.
 
IronWing said:
Just last weekend I watched a dufus drive around the gates. We also have a crossing about a hundred feet before an intersection with traffic lights. Idiots stop on the tracks all the time waiting for the red light to change.
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I have seen that here too. People must value their time over their lives, or they are just stupid. Saw when it kills others too.
 
I'm still rather fond of this...

LibertyRR.jpg
 
when i was younger i was renting a apartment right near a train track and bar. one night while sitting on the roof talking with a friend we watched as one guy left the bar drove to the tracks and tried to get around the gate. teh train hit him they hit a light pole (snapped it) bounced back into the train.

read the paper the next day and seen it was 3 kids and all died. walked down to the site and there was still blood stains on teh ground.

Something i will never forget. so no i will never go around a gate.
 
Having been around railroad crossings since I was a child, I know never to go around the gates or try to beat the train. Trains are so physically big that it looks like they are going slower than they really are. And if it's a tie, you die. Some places are putting in gates that block all lanes so it's impossible to drive around them. You'd think people would know not to do that, but it happens frequently.

The impact of a train hitting a car is proportional to a car running over a soda can.
 
Wow what an idiot driver. If you have any suspicion the arm is down and there is no train, then at least stop, get out of the car, listen for a train, slowly walk towards the track to look both ways and when you see it's clear then go in the car and drive. But chances are if the arm is down, it's down for a reason, wait. Sounds like this was one of those always in a hurry people, well it caught up with him.

I feel sorry for the baby and other passengers.
 
Bignate603 said:
Around hear I see people jaywalking across busy 6 lane roads with 45 mph speed limits while pushing strollers or dragging a toddler in each hand. They often do it in the dark, away from street lamps so it's almost impossible to see them until you're really close. What makes it even worse is that they are usually only about 100 feet from a cross walk. I get pissed when I see them risk their kids' lives like that. If you want to get hit by a car that's your business but if you want to risk your kid's life to save yourself a few minutes you don't deserve to be a parent.
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Your horn, use it.
 
The crossing bars were down and warning lights were blinking when the driver of the SUV, a Nissan Pathfinder, steered around another car and then around the bars, said Mike Wiley, Regional Transit's general manager.
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Wow, so they were behind another car and decided to drive around them and test their luck. Just couldn't wait another 15 seconds for the train to pass?
 
Bullshit. 3 trains went by without the lane opening up for vehicle traffic? Who the fuck set that up? He probably thought the thing was defective. I've sat at a broken red light stuck on red for all ways myself (not traintracks but still) and people just go.
 
JSt0rm said:
Bullshit. 3 trains went by without the lane opening up for vehicle traffic? Who the fuck set that up? He probably thought the thing was defective. I've sat at a broken red light stuck on red for all ways myself (not traintracks but still) and people just go.
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They are on different tracks, So they came around the same time.
 
DCal430 said:
They are on different tracks, So they came around the same time.
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i understand but I dont think there should be a situation where 3 trains are going by on a crossing without their being time for vehicle traffic.

I've also never realized that more then 1 train would cross per crossing before. Maybe I'm just not in those areas much but its good to know. Unfortunately 3 people had to die to get the message out there.
 
417-1l1Ln3.St.55.jpg


Around here those arms come down and block both lanes on either side so you can't go around it. Does it cost that much more to do this in that location?

It would at least prevent stupid people from doing stupid things. Sure the driver might have thought the gate was malfunctioning, but my first instinct wouldn't be go around the barriers. I would either turn around and take another street or at least get out of the car to see if trains were coming. Actually, I wouldn't do that at all, I'd go around or call the police.
 
It has to be somebodies job to think about what people would do. We all have stupid moments because we are HUMANS. When 300 tons of metal is moving at 55mph it is up to SOMEBODY to think about what could happen.
 
shortylickens said:
Sporty Utility Vehicle?
Sacramento?

Yeah, I only feel sorry for the baby.
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Eh I mean given the high quality breeding and the even higher quality parenting that the child would've received, I'm inclined to say there's no real loss here.

Also I don't see why anyone would call this an "accident." Sounds pretty damn negligent to me.
 
paperfist said:
417-1l1Ln3.St.55.jpg


Around here those arms come down and block both lanes on either side so you can't go around it. Does it cost that much more to do this in that location?

It would at least prevent stupid people from doing stupid things. Sure the driver might have thought the gate was malfunctioning, but my first instinct wouldn't be go around the barriers. I would either turn around and take another street or at least get out of the car to see if trains were coming. Actually, I wouldn't do that at all, I'd go around or call the police.
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I'd ballpark it at another 60k-80k per crossing. There's the setting of the masts, the wiring of the cantilevers, the additional cement for both as well as for the median barrier, etc, etc, etc.

And there are *a lot* of crossings. It does help, but to some extent, the cost can't be justified to protect every idiot from themselves.
 
JSt0rm said:
It has to be somebodies job to think about what people would do. We all have stupid moments because we are HUMANS. When 300 tons of metal is moving at 55mph it is up to SOMEBODY to think about what could happen.
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Q: Are gates down?
If yes, do not go.
If no, proceed.

That's it. Beyond that, stupidity will take care of itself.
 
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