Two girls injured while trespassing on NHN tracks

LEBANON, MAINE – Authorities say two teenage girls were struck and seriously injured around 10:30 this morning by a freight train in the town of Lebanon, Maine, on the New Hampshire border.

Police Chief Mark McGowan in Milton, N.H., says the engineer tried to stop but struck the 13- and 14-year-old girls. McGowan tells Foster's Daily Democrat the girls were sunning themselves on the tracks and may have fallen asleep.

Read more at:

http://news.mainetoday.com/updates/027812.html

when will people learn to stay off RR tracks...feel bad for them...but sleeping on tracks, wow.

Since the girls were underage, all you can do is blame the parents for not properly training their daughters. How many times does one have to tell one's child about the dangers involved ? This assumes the girls had all of their marbles in the first place.

This is true. I was taught at a young age not to walk on tracks, walk on ice etc etc

Updated article with more info:

http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story ... 4&ac=PHnws

Sad, very sad. NHN's local flavor as a shortline makes this seem like a more personal incident to me. Even quiet little branch lines are not safe from these tragedies.

How about using some of this DARE money for Operation Lifesaver instead?
On a related topic, why weren't these girls in school? I'm sorry they were dismembered, but I hope they are arraigned for trespassing in their hospital beds. According to WMUR, they may have been wearing their iPods. Wow, total Darwin Award candidates.

Of course you have the typical shocked, ignorant reactions from local parents. One woman in the WMUR newsreel claiming the trestle should be "fenced off" as opposed to these parents' keeping these kids away from the tracks and actually watching them.

Can't wait for the lawsuit where they base it on "it wasn't posted they couldn't be there..."

My thoughts and prayers go out to the train crew, the family and friends of the two girls and the two girls themselves. I can't even comprehend this accident.

Things like that should not need to be posted. People should have the good common sense to stay off RR tracks, gosh why is this country so stupid, like the suits over mcdonalds... you made me fat... dahhh common sense.

Mattydred wrote:How about using some of this DARE money for Operation Lifesaver instead?

People killed by marijuana: 0
People killed by trespass on tracks: over 400 a year in the US.

I suggest that not one dollar should be spent on DARE until Operation Lifesaver is fully funded.

More video and a slightly updated article at WMUR.

Apparently, no charges have been filed related to this accident yet.

aline1969 wrote:Things like that should not need to be posted. People should have the good common sense to stay off RR tracks, gosh why is this country so stupid, like the suits over mcdonalds... you made me fat... dahhh common sense.

I agree 100%. However NH does not have an "implied trespassing" law like MA does when it comes to rr tracks. NHN only has one place posted and that's the entrance to the pit. They were hit in ME however, and I believe they have and implied trespassing statue where RR's do not need to be posted. Won't charge em though....I can see the "they have suffered enough" yada yada coming.

Thoughts go out to the train crew. I wonder if Lenny was on that day?

Considering that they were juveniles and that Maine's rail trespass laws call for a fine of no more than $20, I'd say yeah, everyone HAS suffered enough. Move on.

Cowford wrote:Considering that they were juveniles and that Maine's rail trespass laws call for a fine of no more than $20, I'd say yeah, everyone HAS suffered enough. Move on.

Joke of a law..... However there are other things beyond this, such as why they were not in school. Was not a vacation day, or in-service day yesterday for ME schools.