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Mario Navarro, 49, a SMART-TD member out of Local 18 (El Paso, Texas), died late Aug. 29 after a pair of rail cars derailed in an accident in Union Pacific’s Alfalfa Rail Yard during a shoving movement.

Mario Navarro, left, is shown in this family photo provided on a GoFundMe page. Brother Navarro died in an at-work accident on Aug. 29, 2022.

An online fundraiser has been established to help his family through their time of unimaginable grief and loss.

Brother Navarro was an 11-year member of our union and worked as a conductor for UP.

“He was not just our co-worker, but our brother as well. I cannot describe how this hurts,” Local 18 Secretary & Treasurer Catarino Montero wrote on the online fundraiser page. “I would like for everyone to please pray for his family. They need it more than ever.”

Brother Navarro is the fourth TD member who has died while in service in 2022.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and investigators from the SMART-TD National Safety Team were dispatched to investigate the accident.

The SMART Transportation Division expresses its most sincere condolences to Brother Navarro’s family, friends and to his brothers and sisters of Local 18.

This article will be updated with service information as more information is provided to the union.

The family of Brother Curtis C. McConihay has established a memorial fund for his two daughters.

McConihay
McConihay, 32, of Local 1386 (Parkersburg, W.Va.), was killed in an accident on CSX property in Washington, W.Va., on Dec. 14.
He was a U.S. Marine veteran and lived in Southside, W.Va., with his wife, Megan, and their two daughters, Madalynn and Alexis. He joined SMART-TD in May 2015 and was a conductor for CSX.
Contributions to the family can be made through PayPal at https://www.paypal.com/paypalme2/mcconihay.
“Please let us keep his family in our thoughts and prayers, as his family is now our family,” said Local 1386 Chairperson W.R. Parsons. “We will keep his memory alive by remembering the good times as we are better people for knowing him. God bless his wife Megan and his precious daughters.”
His obituary can be read here.

Travis "Bowie" Andrepont
Andrepont
Travis “Bowie” Andrepont, the secretary/treasurer of Local 1947 in Lake Charles, La., was killed before dawn on Tuesday, Aug. 20, in a rail accident in Beaumont, Texas.
Andrepont, 39, of DeQuincy, La., had worked for Union Pacific for 16 years, a UP company spokeswoman told The Associated Press.
Brother Andrepont became a member of SMART Transportation Division in January 2006 and had been the local’s S&T since January 2018. A conductor, he also was secretary of LCA 577 (sUnion Pacific-MP).
“His love for his wife and his children, surpassed everything else,” his obituary read.
He is survived by the love of his life, Paiton Andrepont; one son, Riley; two daughters, Shiloh and Amelia; his mother, Lesa Russell and step father, J. Russell; grandparents, Walton and Dellie Baggett and Audrey Andrepont, all of DeQuincy; one brother, Brian Andrepont of Houston; two sisters, Dawn Lewis and husband David of DeRidder, and Ashley Broussard and husband Jason of Lake Charles.
An online fundraiser has been established to assist his family in their time of mourning.
SMART TD expresses great sorrow at this tragic loss and extends condolences to Brother Andrepont’s family, friends, local and all who knew him.
Condolences for Brother Andrepont’s family and friends may be left at this website.
The NTSB was notified of the accident, and local authorities are investigating, according to law enforcement.

Services have been announced for Brother Michael Cella, the SMART Transportation Division conductor, who was killed in the Amtrak Train 91 collision Feb. 4 in Cayce, S.C.

A gathering of Cella’s friends and family will be 10 a.m. to noon immediately followed by a celebration of life Monday, Feb. 12 at Hardage-Giddens Holly Hill Funeral Home, 3601 Old Jennings Road Middleburg, Fla. 32068.
Brother Cella is survived by his wife, Christine, daughter, Elena, and son, Logan.
Online condolences for Cella’s family may be left at http://obits.dignitymemorial.com/dignity-memorial/obituary.aspx?n=Michael-Cella&lc=4346&pid=188097606&mid=7753115.
Services for Michael Kempf, 54, the engineer and former SMART TD member also killed in the accident, were today. Kempf is survived by his wife and three children.
Online condolences for Kempf’s family may be left at https://www.meaningfulfunerals.net/?action=obituaries.obit_view&CFID=ab6d4627-ce61-45c9-b40f-ee818f22b0a5&CFTOKEN=0&o_id=4606891&fh_id=13934.
An online fundraiser for both families is available at https://www.gofundme.com/memorial-fund-for-cella-amp-kempf.

OLD FORT, N.C. — A railroad worker who was killed early May 6 in a mudslide, was the father of three children and always had a smile on his face, his wife said.

Joe Drewnoski, 33, of Waynesville, died on Old Fort Mountain early Monday morning while inspecting track after a mudslide with another Norfolk Southern worker.

Read the full story at the Asheville Citizen-Times.