The love that led a couple to stand in front of a train

From the Syracuse Post-Standard. Husband brings mentally disabled wife (brain aneurysm) to a grade crossing in Verona, NY (Oneida County - near Turning Stone Casino) to await their fate. Police ruled it a murder-suicide. A little surprised the paper is romanticizing something so terrible.

My first thoughts were with the train crew. This sort of thing has to be traumatic for them. I hope they're doing OK.

http://www.syracuse.com/news/index.ssf/ ... train.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

I stumbled across this article yesterday and my first thoughts also went out to the train crew. Even though we talk about it every time a train hits a car, I don't think many other people realize that the train crews see this collision coming on and they usually can't do much but sit there and wait to collide, hoping that no one is trapped, but expecting the worst. It is sad for everyone involved, it would be nice if the news just once made note that train crews suffer from these collisions even if they walk away physically unscathed.

I think Otto should disallow any conversation pertaining to a possibly, mentally troubled man, murdering his un healthy wife by jumping in front a train. I feel that the wife had no intentions of ending her life. . This really has zero to do with past and present railroad operation..

UP4141 wrote:I think Otto should disallow any conversation pertaining to a possibly, mentally troubled man, murdering his un healthy wife by jumping in front a train. I feel that the wife had no intentions of ending her life. . This really has zero to do with past and present railroad operation..

I disagree. This is very much a reality of railroading.

My thoughts are also first with the crew..........who had zero choice other than to face
what was happening right in front of them.

As far as the romanticizing, I feel this is irresponsible journalism. That's about the politest
way I can describe it. I'm sure the Syracuse Post-Standard could find must better things to write
about. I correct myself.......this is news-worthy, but this doesn't deserve to be written about
THIS way.

Horrible journalism.

Charlie

That's the second fatality at that crossing in recent years, that's where the couple on the motorcycle didn't stop and IIRC rode into the side of a moving train and were killed. I drive through there once in a while because it's a quiet road and if I want to stop and wait to see a train no one bothers me.

I'm not going to comment on the mental state of people committing suicide, but I fail to see that being jetwashed off the front of a train is romantic.

UP4141 wrote:I think Otto should disallow any conversation pertaining to a possibly, mentally troubled man, murdering his un healthy wife by jumping in front a train. I feel that the wife had no intentions of ending her life. . This really has zero to do with past and present railroad operation..

This is a forum - for people to discuss things pertaining to railroading. It is not limited to engine colors or when a track was abandoned.

It's very sad that someone's life gets to the point that we have an incident like that. Obviously neither of the people was capable of rational thought, which makes it all the more tragic because by all reports they formerly were very happy and capable.

But I think there is a LOT of relevance to a forum section titled "Railroading and Railfanning by Region and State". For some of those watching trains as a hobby, railroading may seem to be roaring down the track blowing a whistle merrily waving to fans from some brightly painted tribute to a long-gone company. But I think most of us know better. There is a large dose of reality, which includes everything from bad weather to fellow employees getting hurt to tragedies like this one.

While from all news accounts the crew was absolutely blameless, I guarantee they have replayed those few seconds in their mind a thousand times, wondering if there was anything they could have done. Even if they were fairly new men and work another 40 years from now, that day will never completely leave them. And it goes beyond them, due to the investigation there probably also was railroad supervision, car inspectors, track inspectors, and signal maintainers who had to respond to go over their respective areas. And it must be tough on non-railroaders involved as well - I doubt firemen and ambulance drivers ever are untouched by having to recover body parts. If the man had somehow been able to analyze all this and yet still wanted to go out as a couple, perhaps some pills and just lying in bed together would have been less traumatic on others.

A guy I used to know often said of railroading "It ain't all glory". Sadly, real railroading includes moments like this. My sympathies to the crew and all those who responded, as well as the family and friends of the deceased.

My question to all of you is, do you know what it's like to have to give up your independence? I've watched a relative slowly give up his independance in many areas. I wouldn't doubt he'd rather be dead than have to be conscious of the fact he has no control. None.

Recently I had a medical scare and told my relatives if anything happens, pull the plug. I don't want to end up like Robert DiNiro in "The Awakening."

This guy pulled his own plug while he had the capability to do it because he recognized what was coming. It is a nasty thing to face and unfortunately. the train crews suffers because of it too.

Near the end of the article it does say the son called the engineer and expressed his sorrow for having put him through this.
Give him props for thinking of the crew.

Just because someone got hit while trespassing on railroad tracks does not always mean it is a topic of discussion for this forum. Just because an event happens on railroad property doesn't make it a railroad topic.

-otto-

Moderator, New York State Forum

Otto Vondrak wrote:Just because someone got hit while trespassing on railroad tracks does not always mean it is a topic of discussion for this forum. Just because an event happens on railroad property doesn't make it a railroad topic.

-otto-

Moderator, New York State Forum

Otto, can you clarify your intent there? Not sure I follow. If an event happens on railroad property I would say that de facto MAKES it a "railroad topic". The forum title does not appear to limit topics to what color paint job is on a given train. We can't deny the reality of events like this by putting our heads in the sand and thinking only happy thoughts. Electing not to discuss it does not alter the fact that it happened, and that it undoubtedly had a profound impact on numerous railroad employees.

The discussion so far has been respectful and germane to the stated forum subject - "railroading".

I think it points up the fact that it's not always a case of the "big bad train" hitting the "poor innocent pedestrian."

"Suicide by cop" is part of the lexicon. For a good many of us who are railfans or otherwise familiar with railroading, "suicide by train" is as well.

Otto Vondrak wrote:Just because someone got hit while trespassing on railroad tracks does not always mean it is a topic of discussion for this forum. Just because an event happens on railroad property doesn't make it a railroad topic.

-otto-

Moderator, New York State Forum

I suppose you would have a point if it was a case of say... minors getting caught with alcohol in a rail yard. However, there was a train and a crew (read: human beings who saw the carnage) aboard it. This subject SHOULD be discussed here.

People get flattened by trains every day. Not sure what that has to do with railroading, but you folks seem to enjoy it, so have at it!

-otto-