Aces High Bulletin Board
General Forums => The O' Club => Topic started by: rpm on November 15, 2012, 07:47:25 PM
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Four people died and 17 others were taken to a hospital when a train crashed into a parade float honoring veterans in Midland, Texas, late this afternoon.
"From what we know right now, apparently there were two fatalities at the time of the incident and two more at the hospital that passed away after they'd been transported," Midland Police Chief Price Robinson said.
Midland Memorial Hospital confirmed the four deaths to ABC News.
Of the 17 injured at the hospital, 10 were in critical condition and seven were in stable condition, Robinson said.
The float was one of two 18-wheel trailers carrying wounded veterans and their families during the parade when a train approached, according to Hamid Vatankhah, a witness who owns a used car lot near the scene of the crash.
The first truck crossed the tracks in time, but the second did not, Vatankhah said, adding that sirens from the police cars in the parade may have drowned out the sound of the approaching train.
"Some people were able to jump, and some that were sitting in wheelchairs on top couldn't do nothing about it," Vatankhah said.
The floats in the Show of Support's Hunt for Heroes parade were crossing Union Pacific train tracks near Garfield Avenue en route to a Show of Support Banquet around 4:35 p.m. local time, according to ABC News affiliate KMID-TV.
:pray
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That is....I don't even have words.
:salute to those who lost their lives.
:pray
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wow major sukage :(
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Oh Jesus...dammit. :(
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Horribly sad.
:pray :salute
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Incredibly sad. My heart goes out to the victims, the truck driver, and the train crew. :salute
It appears that the truck started across the grade crossing without clearance on the other side and got stopped on the tracks by traffic in front of him.
"I saw the truck crossing the tracks. About halfway across the gates started coming down. The truck tried to blow his horn to get the other people in front of him out of the way. The gates actually hit the first people on the trailer," witness Michael Briggs said.
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What a waste, the truck driver made one hell of a mistake.
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As if these people hadn't gone through enough already... :bhead
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(http://www.gannett-cdn.com/media/USATODAY/USATODAY/2012/11/16/train1116120006-4_3_rx512_c680x510.jpg?0f5c31de35bf4ef88a50c2e35ee3bc4da4bf3083)
Not sure if it played a role, but look at those traffic signals on either side of the tracks.
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Before I can really post anything about it, does anyone have pictures of what the tracks look like down the line? Does the train have to round a corner in which it wouldn't have been seen coming? Or can you get a clear sight a ways down the track?
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Google Earth or Street View would have that. I haven't looked it up. What nobody has said is WHY they stopped. Was it the traffic lights or something else? If it was the traffic light why didn't police have the intersection blocked for a parade? If it was something else, what was it?
The whole thing is sad, but there were stories of heroism (yet again) from the wounded vets that were throwing people off the float as the train hit. One wounded vet managed to push his wife off a split second before he was killed.
:salute
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I just want you guys to know who the four vets that we're in the train crash. I first noticed this event on Military.com so here it is. Read the link below if you wanna know who the men that died were.
http://www.military.com/daily-news/2012/11/17/vets-killed-in-train-crash-were-war-heroes.html?comp=1198882887570&rank=2 (http://www.military.com/daily-news/2012/11/17/vets-killed-in-train-crash-were-war-heroes.html?comp=1198882887570&rank=2)
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Driver is completely at fault. He made a terrible, but stupid mistake.
http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/11/18/15249729-ntsb-warning-signals-activated-before-vets-float-pulled-onto-train-tracks?lite
Rosekind gave this timeline of the crash, The Associated Press said, based on review of video from the train and a sheriff's vehicle that was behind the trailer:
20 seconds before collision: Bells and lights activated as first tractor trailer is safely crossing the tracks
13 seconds before: Gates start to descend
12 seconds before: Front of the second tractor trailer starts crossing in front of the train
9 seconds before: Train starts sounding its horn
5 seconds before: Train engineer uses emergency brake
I would very much like to see the video from the train's perspective. Train was traveling at 62mph, which is under the 70mph limit for that track. 20 seconds prior to impact is quite a bit of time, and with what I've seen on Google Maps, the train would be visible. The video from the train would make things a bit more clearer though. :headscratch:
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Horrible. :(