SMART UnionLOS ANGELES – One week after being gravely injured in a collision between a Metrolink train and a pickup truck, the train’s engineer has died.
Glenn Steele, 62, died early Tuesday of injuries suffered in the Feb. 24 crash in Oxnard, the Los Angeles County coroner said.
Read the complete story at the Los Angeles Times.
Train operators in Canada’s burgeoning freight rail industry report falling asleep at the controls and coming to work exhausted at an alarmingly high rate, according to an ongoing CBC News investigation into rail safety.
“I have had instances where I have just snapped back into reality, and kind of, for a few seconds, not really realized or recognized where I am,” one Ontario-based CN rail engineer told CBC News, recalling how he’d missed a signal at the controls of a three-kilometre-long train.
Read the complete story CBC News.
Update: KNOE 8 News has learned that the two railroad employees injured in Sunday’s train derailment are now both being treated for their injuries in a Shreveport hospital.
Mer Rouge Police Chief Mitch Stevens says the train engineer has a compound fracture to his leg and some bumps and bruises. The chief says the conductor has numerous broken ribs. He had surgery to remove his spleen and heart surgery related to the broken ribs.
Visit KNOE 8 for updates on this story.
Original Post:
MER ROUGE, La. – Two Union Pacific engineers were injured when their train derailed in Mer Rouge early Sunday (Oct. 5) afternoon after colliding with a truck that was stuck on the tracks.
The driver of the truck was uninjured after bailing out as the train approached. “The driver jumped out of the truck and took off running,” said Mer Rouge Police Chief Mitch Stephens. “That was all he could do.”
Read the complete story at The News Star.
Sometimes, when a train bears down on a person who has gotten onto the rails, his eyes meet the engineer’s just before impact.
“We have fatalities where people just lay themselves on the tracks, and they could be possibly staring right up at you,” said Anthony Bottalico, 58, a union official who began working as a conductor 38 years ago.
Read the complete story at LoHud.com.
MECCA, Calif. — Last week, a 10-month-old poodle-terrier mix was found tied to the railroad tracks.
An engineer spotted an old man walking near the railroad tracks and noticed that the man had left something behind. The engineer was able to stop the train in time using his emergency brakes and discovered the pooch still alive. The puppy’s hero remains unidentified.
Union Pacific Special Agent Sal Pina responded to the scene and questioned the perpetrator. It seems the family didn’t want the puppy and didn’t know what to do with him. The 78-year-old man was deemed to be senile and confused, seemingly not realizing what he had done, and no charges were pressed. He was released into the custody of his family with a warning that if the elderly man was ever spotted around the railroad tracks again Pina would file elderly abuse charges.
Pina said that the puppy tied to the tracks was “probably one of the worst things he’d seen,” adding, “I’ve never seen something like this.”
The puppy – which was named Banjo after old traffic signals some of which can still be seen on various railways – was taken to a vet and given a bath.
He was then turned over to Riverside County Animal Services where he has been put up for adoption.
“I would prefer to be someone who can treat him gently and give him the kind of love he needs right now, because he’s been through so much,” said Jo Marie Upegui, a veterinary technician who is caring for Banjo.
Banjo is described as being a very healthy and friendly pup by the vets who took care of him. Riverside County Animal Services is requiring interested adopters to email shelterinfo@rivcocha.org and share why their family would be the best for Banjo.
Pictures courtesy of Riverside County Animal Services