Railroad Forums 

  • Amtrak GOP Charter Train hits garbage/dumpster truck in VA

  • Discussion related to Amtrak also known as the National Railroad Passenger Corp.
Discussion related to Amtrak also known as the National Railroad Passenger Corp.

Moderators: GirlOnTheTrain, mtuandrew, Tadman

 #1463182  by litz
 
Whether or not the gates were down prior to isn't material at all in this case.

If the gates are down, you do not cross the crossing, period. It's in every single state's drivers manual.

In absolutely no way does a malfunctioning crossing gate put any burden on the railroad.

Malfunctioning gates default to the "safe" state of blocking the crossing. Which means until the railroad clears the fault or bypasses the gate system, providing crossing protection that crossing is closed.

Any driver going around the gates is breaking the law.
 #1533357  by ThirdRail7
 
The truck driver was acquited of involuntary manslaughter last year.
After more than five hours of deliberation Wednesday, a jury found a trash truck driver not guilty in a fatal 2018 train crash.

Dana Naylor Jr., 31, initially was charged with involuntary manslaughter and maiming while under the influence after authorities said he drove a Time Disposal garbage truck onto train tracks on Jan. 31, 2018, and was struck by a chartered Amtrak train carrying Republican members of Congress. The collision killed Chris Foley and severely injured Dennis Eddy. Both men were passengers in the trash truck.
That being said, lawsuits have been filed against the truck driver, the truck company, the BBRR and the train conductor...although I'm pretty sure they meant train engineer.

Five men sue driver of trash truck struck by Amtrak train in 2018
https://www.dailyprogress.com/news/loca ... 25192.html

The five most recent lawsuits all come from passengers on the train and name Naylor as a defendant along with Time Disposal, LLC; Buckingham Branch Railroad Company; and Robert Shawn Young, the conductor of the Amtrak train.[/url]

Apparently, they feel the train "conductor" didn't apply the brakes quickly enough.
 #1533424  by Arborwayfan
 
Does Amtrak cover the legal fees etc. of an employee who is sued over the performance of his or her duties? In some cases? In all cases? Do train crews or their unions carry some sort of liability insurance, or is that covered by Amtrak, or what?

Besides what sounds like the patent absurdity that anything the conductor or engineer did made this worse....