In article <t05bc5$289co$
36@news.freedyn.de>
governor.swill@gmail.com wrote:
A dump truck driver thought he could outrun a speeding train.
Passenger rail provider Amtrak and BNSF Railway Company have
filed a federal lawsuit blaming the contracting company that
owns the dump truck the train collided with on Monday of causing
the crash that killed four people, including the truck driver,
near Mendon, Missouri.
The lawsuit, filed Thursday in the Eastern District of Missouri,
alleges MS Contracting, based in Brookfield, Missouri, is
ultimately responsible for the crash, saying truck driver Billy
Barton II crossed the railroad tracks in a manner that was
ounsafe, careless and reckless.o It further alleges the company
failed to properly maintain its trucking equipment or properly
train its employees, including Barton.
A call placed to the contracting companyAs listed phone number
was not answered Thursday. Lawyers representing Amtrak and BNSF
did not immediately reply to a message from The Star seeking
comment.
Also on Thursday, a lawsuit was filed against a BNSF manager and
Chariton County by BartonAs widow. It alleges the intersection
was dangerous because it lacks visibility for drivers and does
not have a sufficient warning system.
The deadly crash occurred around 12:45 p.m. Monday at the
railroad crossing on Porche Prairie Avenue after the Los Angeles-
Chicago bound train, running along the Southwest Chief route,
hit a dump truck that was obstructing the track, authorities
have said. The truck was hauling a load of shot rock to a nearby
levee under repair by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
Approximately 275 passengers and 12 crew members were on board
at the time. The collision caused several train cars to fall
over, leading to a crisis situation in the rural Missouri town
as at least 150 were transported to 10 different hospitals
across the state.
Three passengers were killed, identified by authorities as
Rachelle Cook, 58, and Kim Holsapple, 56, both of De Soto,
Kansas; and Binh Pham, 82, of Kansas City. More than a dozen
remained hospitalized as of Wednesday.
In the days since the crash, The Star has learned of public
safety concerns that were raised in recent years about the
railroad crossing, which has no lights or guard rails. Other
concerns include visibility and the steep grade of the public
road that intersects with the railroad tracks.
The Missouri Department of Transportation has authority over
public railroad crossings and runs the stateAs railroad safety
program.
The Porche Prairie crossing was on a list of MoDOTAs recommended
safety projects that had yet to be completed. Its estimated cost
was $400,000.
The National Transportation Safety Board, the federal agency
that investigates railway and other transportation disasters,
has yet to complete its analysis of the crash. Officials say the
Amtrak train was going 89 mph when the train blew its horn,
roughly one-quarter mile before impact, and slowed to 87 mph at
the moment of impact.
Data from the trainAs cameras and computer systems have been
collected as part of the investigation. NTSB officials also say
they are taking into account the safety concerns that have been
raised about the crossing.
The agency is expected to release a report in mid-July
containing basic facts about the incident.
Meantime, the lawsuit filed Thursday on behalf of Amtrak and
BNSF contends the train was oclearly visibleo and that Barton,
the driver, failed to yield to the trainAs right of way. It was
not immediately clear what led the companies to arrive at that
conclusion.
The lawsuit is among the first in a potential wave of civil
cases as some passengers have signaled they may sue Amtrak and
the railway company. Several have already retained legal counsel.
https://news.yahoo.com/amtrak-bnsf-railway-blame-missouri-
020752819.html
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