| Worker dies on Norfolk Southern |
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| CHICAGO – Police said a Norfolk Southern Railway employee was struck and killed by a train Friday afternoon (Aug. 25) on Chicago’s Far Southeast Side, according to this report by Jeremy Gorner published by the Chicago Tribune. The incident occurred around 12:30 p.m. at 103rd Street and Constance Avenue, Chicago Police Officer Marcel Bright said. The Cook County medical examiner’s office was notified about the fatality, but could not immediately provide further details this afternoon. Although the male victim worked for the railroad, Bright said he did not know if a Norfolk Southern train hit him. Rudy Husband, a spokesman for Norfolk Southern, said the incident occurred in a train yard, but he refused to comment further. Dede Cordell, a spokeswoman for the Federal Railroad Administration, an agency that regulates railroad safety, said they were investigating the crash, but could not elaborate. (The preceding report by Jeremy Gorner was published by the Chicago Tribune. on Friday, Aug. 25, 2006.) |
Terrible news…[:(]
Always sad to hear about the death of a fellow trainman.[:(] May his memeory live on.
I’m sure we will hear more about it eventually. The report that was given at our yard was that this incident (hardly a “crash”, as the Trib described it) took place at NS’ Calumet Yard. The employee involved had been working for about a year and a half, and was “cut apart by his own train”. An engineer was mentioned, so it was apparently not a remote operation.
I know as well as anyone how the rumor mill works, so please forgive me if details don’t bear out these “facts” when they become available.
| UTU member killed on NS identified |
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| Thomas C. Myers Jr., a Norfolk Southern employee and member of UTU Local 1895 in Chicago, has been identified as the rail worker who was struck and killed by a train August 25 at the carrier’s Calumet Yard. Myers, 43, has been a member of the UTU since March 1999. “We are still trying to determine what happened,” NS General Chairperson Delbert Strunk said. “He was the foreman on a two-man switching job and was killed during a switching move. There were no witnesses so we really don’t know what happened.” The incident occurred around 12:30 p.m. at 103rd St. and Constance Ave. Dede Cordell, a spokeswoman for the Federal Railroad Administration, said they were investigating the incident. Myers leaves a wife and three children. |
Man struck by freight train in Dolton
August 27, 2006
FROM THE CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
A young man attempting to cross railroad tracks on foot was injured after being struck by a freight train Sunday night in south suburban Dolton, police said.
The victim, whose in his early 20s, was taken in serious condition to St. James Hospital and Health Centers in Olympia Fields, according to Dolton Police and Fire Department spokesman Sean Howard. The man might lose his right leg, Howard said.
“The man was unconscious and there was significant blood loss,” Howard said. “There was significant damage to his legs, especially his right.”
The accident occurred at a train crossing at 144th and Monroe Streets around 5 p.m. when the victim attempted to cross the tracks on foot. The man was unable to cross the tracks before the train arrived and was “clipped by the train,” Howard said.
Howard said the crossing gates were down when the victim was struck.
No further details were available as of 5:45 p.m.
Sadly, this comes as no surprise. The neighborhood residents do this all the time in Dolton. I’ve been trainwatching at Dolton Crossing and often see pedestrians climbing over and under temporarily-stopped long Indiana Harbor Belt freights waiting for clearance to get into the yard. Usually, they’re stopped for less than five minutes, but the locals are too much of a hurry. I’ve seen trains start and as the slack comes out, suddenly jolt forward – jarring people climbing over couplers.
This is a very tragic event.