Chief: Man struck, killed by train in Plains Township was listening to music

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Always expect a train; any time, any track, any direction.

Chief: Man struck, killed by train in Plains Township was listening to music
August 6, 2020 Times Leader Local, News
By Patrick Kernan [e-mail]

PLAINS TWP. — A male was killed while walking on train tracks in Plains Township, Thursday afternoon, with Police Chief Dale Binker saying he was likely listening to music and did not hear the train coming.

“We believe it was an accident where a gentleman was walking on the railroad tracks, possibly listening to music, with earbuds in,” Binker said.

The incident took place on the railroad right-of-way off South Oak Street behind the Plains Polish American Veterans Club parking lot.

Family of an individual who believed the deceased to be a loved one gathered at the scene, but Binker said that they would also be unable to identify the remains, which were badly damaged.

Plains Township Police, the Luzerne County Coroner’s Office and officials from the Norfolk Southern Corp. are investigating.

“The train wasn’t speeding, we know all that; it was just a tragic accident,” Binker went on.

Binker also said that the train operator showed no sign of impairment at the time of the accident.

{snip}

[sfstaxprep]

1. Thanks Darwin....

Do people not realize that train tracks are not a walkway?

And if you are Stupid enough to make it your walkway, TAKE THE FRICKIN' BUDS OUT OF YOUR EARS, so you can hear the train that actually belongs on the track.

Hopefully the train engineer did not suffer too much trauma, that would stay with him for the rest of his life. There was obviously nothing they could have done to prevent this.

[BusyBeingBest]

2. The family wasn't able to identify the remains--ugh.

Confession--I used to walk on active train tracks with headphones/music on breaks from my job next the tracks. I always figured I'd know if a train was coming, later learned they're quieter than you think.

[Dem2theMax]

3. This happened to a cousin of mine. Cousin by way of marriage.

Last edited Fri Aug 7, 2020, 09:11 PM - Edit history (1)

I don't even know if he had headphones on. We have a very dangerous area where they don't have any warning signs. You can cross one set of tracks, and not see the train coming until it's too late. It was too late for him.

Multiple people have died doing the exact same thing in the exact same area. I think they finally put up fences and warning signs and other things to hopefully save the lives of others in the future.

I've lost at least five family members to trains. When you start doing genealogy you start finding out all kinds of strange things about your ancestors.

One tried to beat the train in his car. Train 1, car 0.

Two of them went into town and got drunk. Walked home. Apparently fell asleep on the train tracks.
Train 2, pedestrians 0.

One actually worked on the trains. He was a brakeman.
Lost his footing. Lost his head. Literally.

Never take your eyes off a train.

Edited to add: the two who were passed out drunk on the tracks, it happened in Pennsylvania.

[Harker]

4. My brother retired from the railroad in Chicago.

He told me a fairly common problem was people ignoring crossing signals because they could see an idle train, to be killed by the express going fast on the other track.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

5. Just like this.

Fairview Avenue, on the old Burlington. Three track-main. A train is making a station stop on one of them. The other two?

The Train Accident Of Mary T Wojtyla
8,143 views•Aug 22, 2018

Matthew Cipolla
8.29K subscribers

On August 26, 1991, 41-year-old Mary T. Wojtyla of Chicago, was fatally hit by a Metra commuter train headed by a leased Burlington Northern Railroad EMD E9 locomotive no. 9912 at the Fairview Avenue station in Downers Grove, Illinois, United States. The fatal accident was captured on camera by a railfan originally intending to film the last days of E9 service on Metra. Footage of the accident is used in training videos and shown at many Operation Lifesaver events with the impact edited out.

[Harker]

6. Afraid so.

They called the express "scoot."