Four passengers suffered injuries of varying severity when the Amtrak train on which they were riding collided with a tree-trimming truck and its attached wood chipper near a private crossing in Berlin, Connecticut (CT). The driver of the truck also sustained serious injuries in the accident that occurred on the morning of June 23, 2014.
Authorities do not know why the truck was on the tracks in the mostly rural part of the center of the state. The smaller vehicle and its rig appear to have been parked, however.
WITH News 8 is reporting that the train’s engineer spotted the truck and activated the brakes before the collision, but the train was traveling to fast to stop. Fortunately, the train crewman was also able to reach the first passenger car and get it evacuated in time to prevent even worse casualties.
The accident happened along a stretch of track that lacks fencing or other barriers that would keep vehicles and pedestrians off the right-of-way. Also, a private crossing that allows easy access to the rail bed is located nearby.
Although it seems likely that the operator of the tree-trimming truck created the immediate danger that led to the train crash and the passengers’ injuries, investigators will need to collect much more information. For instance, track repair and maintenance crews normally have set times and a permissible amount of clearance to work when trains will not be approaching or at risk for making contact. Continual communication with dispatchers who control access to the tracks for Amtrak may have broken down, or proper authorizations may not have been sought.
Regardless, the existing situation of open access to tracks where trains can reach speeds of 90 mph also needs to be addressed to prevent future crashes. Almost each day across the United States, people get injured and lose their lives on railroad tracks because they find it so simple to get into the paths of speeding trains.
As a Virginia personal injury and wrongful death lawyer who has represented many victims of railroad accidents, I have advocated for stricter controls on track access for decades. Some progress is being made, but crashes like this one in Connecticut show that railroad companies like Amtrak, CSX and Norfolk Southern have much work to do in ensuring everyone’s health and safety.
EJL
Rick Shapiro has practiced personal injury law for over 30 years in Virginia, North Carolina, and throughout the Southeastern United States. He is a Board-Certified Civil Trial Advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy (ABA Accredited) and has litigated injury cases throughout the eastern United States, including wrongful death, trucking, faulty products, railroad, and medical negligence claims. During his three-decade career, Shapiro has won client appeals before the VA Supreme Court, VA Court of Appeals, NC Supreme Court, SC Supreme Court, WV Supreme Court, TN Supreme Court, and three times before the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, underscoring Shapiro’s trial achievements. In addition, he and his law firm have won settlements/verdicts in excess of $100 million. His success in and out of the courtroom is a big reason why he was named 2019 “Lawyer of the Year” in railroad law in U.S. News & World Report's Best Lawyers publication (Norfolk, VA area), and he has been named a “Best Lawyer” and “Super Lawyer” by those peer-reviewed organizations for multiple years. Rick was also named a “Leader in the Law, Class of 2022” by Virginia Lawyers Weekly (total of 33 statewide honorees consisting of lawyers and judges across Virginia). And in September 2023, Rick was selected as a recipient of the National Board of Trial Advocacy (NBTA) 2023 President’s Award. Although many nominations were submitted from across the country, Rick was just one of eight attorneys chosen by the prestigious National Board which certifies civil trial attorneys across the U.S. Rick was also recently named to Virginia Lawyers Weekly 2024 Virginia’s Go To Lawyers Medical Malpractice. The attorneys awarded this honor are nominated by their colleagues and chosen by a panel from the publication.
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