[The FRA Accident Investigation Report was issued at a later date.] Jason has since revealed what happened that night which led to his best mate being killed, how the incident has changed his life and the effect it has on him to this day. Fairlfield, CA - March 17, 2015 - Alexander T. Sassman, 51, of Loyalton was was killed when a taxi hired by Union Pacific Railroad to transport his crew rolled off the side of a freeway near the Interstate 680/Interstate 80 interchange, according to the California Highway Patrol. One for not furnishing and a place of employment free from recognized hazards that could likely cause death or serious physical harm to employees and the other for hand tools or equipment were not kept in a safe condition. Brother Hooten was a member of UTU Local 1290 and was a few months away from his retirement. "He was a great artist, a wonderful musician. Loren Daswood of Red Rock, N.M., was pronounced dead at the scene. Lowe was a father of two, one of which is a son who will graduate from high school this year. Aug 9, 1941. On July 17, 1981, the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Kansas City, Missouri, suffered the structural collapse of two overhead walkways. The intense heat caused concrete to crack and melt, sending chucks falling onto a road below throughout the night. By no means can we guarantee that our list below is complete, but we will try to make it as complete as possible and it will remain a work in progress for quite some time. Roybal, 44 yrs. Click on a letter to view crashes by troop. One was an employee and the other a contractor. There are likely to be huge traffic jams in the area if it is still closed when people return to work Monday. Brother Irby, 58, joined the BLE on October 1, 1973. March 27, 2016 St Paul, MN - A rail worker who died after he was struck by a train in St. Paul early Saturday has been identified as a 43-year-old from West Allis, Wis., the Ramsey County medical examiners office said. Part of the tunnel collapsed at 08:00 local time (23:00 . The FRA and NTSB are investigating. Oct. 26, 2006 Cisco, UT - Union Pacific Railroad (UP) 46 years-old Spike Puller Operator with 28 years of service was fatally injured when struck by on-track equipment. George, as he was known, was a native of Kiev, Ukraine, who married an American serving there as a missionary. According to a family member, he had called his wife, shortly before the accident, to say he was headed home. SPC Jason Wheeler and his wife Kristi and son Nicholas were escorted to their mortgage-free smart home by a motorcade of North Texas Patriot Guard motorcycle riders, as well as vehicles from Denton County Sheriffs Office and Denton County Emergency Services District #1. Copyright 2020 WJHG. February 10, 2008 {C}{C}{C}{C}A NJ Transit employee was killed this morning in Bergen County after he was struck by a train, a transit spokeswoman said. September 24, 2003 Fresno, CA - Burlington Northern Santa Fe Corporation - 35 years-old Yard Foreman with 2 years, 3 months of service was fatally injured when struck by rail equipment when he fell from a freight car during a switching movement. The victims were 26-year-old trainee, Daniel Waldenberger-Bulmer from Grand Prairie, Conductor Dylan Paradis and Locomotive Engineer Andrew Dockrell. Police had initially said he was pinned between two train cars. and he was proper loyal, one of the most loyal friends I've had in my life, without a doubt. Most Facebook users can now claim settlement money. Further, restaurants, nightclubs and bars that serve alcohol cannot serve somebody to the point of or beyond intoxication. Assistant Engineer, Randall L. Moses, 43 yrs. Engineer of train 277, Richard A. Firefighters worried that the damage could cause parts of the tunnel to collapse, particularly if they were to allow many cars back onto a road that runs above it. [] So if my story can help someone that's why I'm here. He stepped on the catwalk of the engine to get some air and ended up dying there and was found by a fellow engineer in the rocks next to the track. Saliba said police do not expect to lay charges. April 1, 2003 - Laguana Niguel CA - Two workers inspecting tracks for MetroLink were Struck and killed by a fast moving AMTRAK train. March 28, 2018 Sioux City IA An employee of the Big Soo Terminal was killed in a switching operation with train cars when he was struck and killed by an unmanned rail car. The hydrochloric acid release caused law enforcement to shut down U.S. 23 for several hours, evacuate about 20 residences along Vine Street in Raceland, issue a shelter-in-place order for the area and closed four school systems Russell and Raceland on the Kentucky side of the Ohio River, as well as Ironton and Ironton St. Joseph. The charred skeletons of at least a half-dozen big rigs could been seen peeking out of the tunnel's south end Saturday. Tom Dedes, 50, was pinned between a vehicle and a train at around 2:30 a.m. on Oct. 1 at the McCowan Yard and was taken to hospital in very serious condition. Loaded with partygoers, the concrete and glass platforms cascaded down, crashing onto a tea dance in the lobby, killing 114 and injuring 216. The accident occurred on above ground track on the Metrorail Red Line near the Fort Totten station in Washington, D.C. If you know of anyone that we missed on this list, please email the webmaster with the information. May 22, 1967 - New York, NY - Six crewmen died when two New York Central trains collided head-on. Losing someone as special as Rodney has been tough, but knowing the he has touched so many people's lives keeps my sister's strengthens our family. All five moved away from an eastbound train, Roderick said, but the foreman apparently didn't realize another train, heading west, was coming about a minute later. Dave Saliba told CBC News the CN workers expected the tracks would be free of train traffic while they worked. He is survived by his wife, Grace (Moran) Kastner, his three children, Cristin Farney and her husband, Steven, Kimberly McCloskey and her husband, William, and Ryan Kastner, as well as his granddaughter, Micaela Kastner. Norfolk Southern spokesman Robin Chapman says 33-year-old Joseph Drewnoski and a colleague were inspecting the rails near Black Mountain after a mudslide around 2 a.m. Monday when a second mudslide knocked their special truck with rail wheels off the track. 117 were fatally injured when their train, which was travelling at about 54 mph, collided head-on with a cut of 20 runaway cars moving eastward at about 30 mph, some six miles east of Edson, Alberta. The same photo could be considered appropriate or violate standards, all depending on its caption and context. June 15, 2010 - Norfolk NE - UTU member and Nebraska Central engineer Jeff Scholl, 38, of Norfolk, Neb., died June 15 after a railroad bridge collapsed near Saras Lake in Norfolk. The truck driver had just filled his tanker with propane at the Conoco-Phillips LP underground storage facility south of Medford before the accident. His family declined to comment. As the van he was traveling in slowed down for a highway construction zone on Interstate 10, just east of Lake Charles, La., it was rear-ended by an 18-wheeler. Background details that you might want to know about Jason include: ethnicity is Caucasian, whose political affiliation is currently a registered Republican; and religious views are listed as Christian. Meerkatz was a 6 year UP employee and was survived by his wife and four children. Brother Eddie Sanchez, Local Chairman of BLET Division 134 in Winslow, Ariz., was killed in an automobile accident while driving to represent his division as a Delegate to the BLET's First Quadrennial Convention in Las Vegas. The worker was not yet identified and the NTSB was sending a team to investigate the accident. Authorities have said that they have reason to believe 27-year-old Jack Tunnell was hurt when the Ford Mustang he was driving was struck by a Cadillac while driving through the intersection of West 10th Street and South Adams Street. September 22, 2017 - Arlington, TX - Union Pacific switchman, Jon Paul Beckman, 48 of Frisco, was with other workers who were trying to switch train cars about 11:24 a.m. and was killed when he was struck by a train. Sister Perkins worked at Domtar for 24 years. The other workers were not struck or injured. The train derailed around Southwest Loop 1604 and Nelson Road, near the town of Macdona. Maybe its a subconscious desire to escape the uneasy claustrophobia of a windowless space. Oxnard, CA - February 24, 2015 - BLET Division 20 member Glenn W. Steele, 62, passed away due to traumatic injuries suffered in a Metrolink collision on February 24, 2015. Rob Summers learned the following day about the photo showing his brother dead on the highway near Westchester. The incident, which occurred on the facility's railroad, remains under investigation by the company and United Steelworkers. December 29, 2009 - Minneapolis, MN - BNSF conductor Samuel W. Lundy, 44, a 17-year member of UTU Local 1000, Minneapolis, was killed Dec. 29 in Minneapolis when, during a switching operation, a rail car derailed and pinned him against a building. Brother Hall hired out in 1994 and joined the BLET on January 29, 1999. Rossville, KS - July 2, 1997 - Engineer Michael E. Brown, 46, was killed in a collision of two Union Pacific Railroad trains. The name of the victim is being withheld pending notification of family. Williams is reportedly being treated for serious injuries. Signal maintainer Louis Moore was on a walkway inside the tunnel called a bench wall when he tumbled onto the tracks as the Jamaica-bound E train was approaching Astorias 46th St. station, transit sources said. Jason Worthington Docket No. May 17, 2008 Cleburne TX A Union Pacific maintenance-of-way employee was killed while operating a lag-screw machine. May 3, 2007 - Suffolk County, MA -Stephen M. Parkerof UTU Local 262 at Boston, Mass., died May 3, 2007, of a heart attack while working as a flagman for Amtrak. The train continued moving and then the car Bankston was on shifted. [On October 14, 2015 the U.S. Department of Labor released the finding on the investigation of the accident. Nine and a half hours after the derailment, the conductor apparently died as a broken bone bled out. LATER: Brother Andersons family speaks out and ask questions. Member of Division 284. Brother Smith was 22 years old when he first joined the BLE on Aug. 17, 1989. NTSB issued a Railroad Accident Brief. [CLICK HERE for OSHA report released on April 6, 2016.]. Brother Kastner was a member of BLET Division 272 in Dover, N.J., and he joined the Brotherhood on April 2, 2004. Metropolitan Transportation Authority police were investigating, Metro-North spokeswoman Marjorie Anders said Saturday. The memorial service was held this past weekend, Sunday, March 9th. The San Francisco Examiner, April 7, 1982. Tunnel to Towers Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit registered in the US under EIN: 02-0554654. I could tell this was the kind of smoke they were talking about." [Note: Jared's needless death on Mother's Day was the impetus for RWU's beginning our annual "Black Shirt Friday" railroaders memorial campaign each year on Father's Day.]. Saraland, AL - 9/22/93 "Derailment of Amtrak Train No. February 16, 2013 - Cleveland OH - A spokesperson for Cleveland's ArcelorMittal Steel confirmed that an employee died in an accident at the steel plant on Saturday evening. Friday, friends, family and many well wishers gathered at Bill Byrd Kia to show their support for Jason Tunnell. Originally from Philadelphia, Gairo graduated from Cardinal Dougherty High School there and served in the Marine Corps Reserve. 2 on the CSXT Big Bayou Canot Bridge". The fireman was killed and the engineer was severely burned when the boiler ruptured. CSX officials have not released information about a derailment or confirmed what the nearby residents believe they saw in the hours after Worshams death. But the coupling attachment did not connect and the man was pinned, he said. The PTI driver, another passenger and the driver of the eastbound truck were all transported to a hospital. This is a free service that you can opt into or out of at any time. The Transportation Safety Board (TSB) said it is investigating the accident. Reed began working for the railroad in August of 2004 and first joined the Brotherhood on December 1, 2004. May 31, 2010 - Kearney, NJ - Brother Gregory G. Kastner, a veteran NJ Transit hostler, had just finished fueling his engine and was walking back to another locomotive when he was struck around 3:30 a.m. on May 31, 2010 at NJ Transits Meadows Maintenance Complex in Kearny, N.J. Steve staggered out through the smoke while June, a reporter at the Piedmonter newspaper, said she was going to try to call 911 on an emergency phone in the tunnel. Brother Steele, BLET Division 20 (Los Angeles), was working as a locomotive engineer for Metrolink on February 24, 2015, when his train collided with an abandoned heavy-duty pickup truck on the tracks near Oxnard, Calif. A fire official said the inside of the tanker had highly volatile and extremely unsafe ethanol vapors. Theriault, 47, was a member of BLE Division 558 (Charny, Quebec). October 30, 2016 -- Artesia, MS - Conductor Christopher Ross Hubbard, 36, of Cottondale, Alabama, died on the railroad tracks at about 10:30 a.m. Hubbard - who worked for the Alabama & Southern Railroad - was on the ground instructing the engineer of a freight train. Michael Chiarelli died in Hamilton General Hospital after being transferred following emergency surgery at Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital. I have friends in the fire department and they always said it's the smoke that kills you. Harsh was transported to Regions Hospital and pronounced dead. It is not known whether Mr. Robinson was at the controls at the time of the incident, but he would have been under strict supervision, said Mr. Griffith. Along with serving as his Division's local chairman, he was actively involved in the organization as a primary member of the BLET Safety Task Force and the National Mobilization Team. He joined the Brotherhood on March 1, 2003. We are made to known about his death on August 19, 2020. [NTSB Issues Safety Recommendations]. Upon arrival, officers secured the scene for the Kendall County coroner and Burlington Northern Santa Fe investigators. May 11, 2010 - Diamondville, WY - Paul Cook, a 39-year-old Union Pacific railroad worker from Bellevue, Neb., was beaten to death last Tuesday night, May 11, just before midnight at the Fairview Motel in Diamondville. The train's conductors said they didn't feel any impact and didn't notice there was an accident until they tried to depart and had brake problems. October 9, 1995 - Phoenix, AZ - The AMTRAK Sunset Limited derailed on Oct. 9, 1995 after it hit a stretch of track which had been bent away. All rights reserved. He belonged to BLET Division 184 in Schiller Park, Wisc. Authorities found a charred shopping cart inside the train and believe an accelerant in the cart helped the fire spread. March 5, 2008 - Sheboygan County, Wisc., March 5, 2008, BLET member killed in switching movement making a delivery Brother Frederick C. Phelps, 55, was killed in the line of duty on March 5, 2008, as he was crushed between two railroad cars while making a delivery. He may nly have 1/2 a leg, but that is ALL he is lacking!! Interstate 5 is a key route connecting Los Angeles to San Francisco, as well as a major commuter link between Los Angeles and its northern suburbs. Chapman says the dead worker's body was recovered about five hours later. He was a resident of Belleville. R.J. Corman has deployed storm teams for Norfolk Southern in North Carolina and South Carolina. Next of kin had not been notified. August 15, 2011 - BNSF Railway yard worker, Thomas F. Bleyenberg, a member of UTU Local 5, Kansas City, Mo., was killed Aug. 15 when he became trapped between two rail cars at the carriers Argentine Yard in Kansas City, Kan. Tunnel crash tragedy: At least five dead and dozens more injured after crash involving bus and truck sparks massive fire in Seoul . Deputes said Mr. Rickard's southbound car went around two sets of barricades and drove into the construction area, where it struck a utility pole and the workers. "They probably prevented another major catastrophe." The train is operated by Western Forest Products, one of the areas major employers. "We're investigating the possibility that he was doing a track inspection," said Coconino County Sheriff's Office spokesperson Gerry Blair. The train was preparing to depart for Tuscaloosa, Alabama, when the accident occurred. President Tsai Ing-wen has sent her condolences to the families of the victims and ordered an investigation. The company said about 95 workers and equipment were used to help Norfolk Southern repair rail lines damaged in the flooding. April 18, 2019 Romulus NY An employee of Andersons Rail Group was killed after being struck by a train. His son, C.W. July 21, 2005 - Emporia KS - 27 year-old Christopher Jones fell from the back of a rail car on a Burlington Northern - Santa Fe train and was pinned when a grain hauler and tanker came together. "A gasoline explosion caused by a chain-reaction vehicle accident turned a tube of the Caldecott Tunnel into a fiery tomb early today, killing seven people and injuring at least two others." June 6, 2003 Kingsport, TN - CSX Transportation, Incorporated - 35 years-old Brakeman with 3 years of service - during a backing maneuver to dock his trailer, a Tractor-Trailer Operators vehicle jack-knifed into the side of a railroad switching movement, striking, pinning, and fatally injuring the Brakeman, who was riding the northeast corner side ladder of the lead rail car. Brother Nicholas Vosejpka collapsed while performing an air test in temperatures well below zero. ", Constitutional scholars say a law that prohibits filming in a public place would have a hard time surviving a legal challenge. Had been a BLE member for 19 years. After jumping out of a Black Hawk helicopter at 1,500 feet, his parachute malfunctioned at approximately 250 feet, causing Wheeler to hit the ground at full force. Scholl was a member of UTU Local 367. Thamesville, Ontario - April 23, 1999 "Many fatalities averted because of two heroic VIA Rail engineers who died in derailment". Curtis C. McConihay, 32, died in an undetermined accident/derailment. An employee of the Wheeling & Lake Erie Railroad (WLE), Brother Thomas hired out as a trainman in October of 2012 and earned promotion to locomotive engineer a short time later. Or merely the inevitable hurry to get from one side of the hills to another. No other injuries were reported. Keith Whited was a member of BMWED Affiliated System Federation Local Lodge 571 and was a 10 year NS employee. February 25, 2000 - Decatur GA - A Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority (MARTA) automatic train control technician was struck and killed, by eastbound MARTA train 103, while inspecting signal equipment on the main track near Avondale Station. He had been furloughed by CSX before hiring on with the state-owned railroad. "It looks like something out of World War II in there.". February 21, 1996 - Tennessee Pass, CO "Derailment and Chemical Spill of Leadville, CO - SouthernPacific Freight Train". He was working as a Wisconsin & Southern Railroad employee when died about 9:20 p.m. on March 5 at Lakeside Foods Co. The tanker exploded on impact. Dawn Valles speaks about the impact the photo has had on her family on September 15, 2016. The engineer had already begun to stop the train when he saw Hubbard lying on the ground. He worked as a systems analyst for Unisys in Blue Bell, Pa. for 30 years. Brother G.D. Shelby, 61, was killed when the westbound freight train on which he was the engineer collided with an eastbound coal train about two miles west of Clarendon. Engineer Anthony C. Rodella, 57, and conductor Jeffrey S. Bohler, 32, were killed in the collision of two Union Pacific freight trains in Carrizozo, N.M., on February 21, 2004. The man worked for Canadian National Railway. Revelstoke British Columbia - December 22, 2004 - Gary Kinakin was fatally injured when he was struck by a train, on the Mountain subdivision after he exited his equipment. The locomotive came to rest about 800 feet below the rail right-of-way. In 2009, a memorial dedicated to Faulkner and Dodd was unveiled in Lillooet. June 24, 2012 - Brian L. Stone, 50, a Union Pacific conductor, died June 24 in a head-on collision between two freight trains near Guymon, Okla. Terry Yarbrough, the conductor from 5981 North and Neal Wilhem, the engineer from 9186 South, and two unidentified individuals who may have been riding on 5981 North were killed in the derailment and subsequent fire. The only occupant of the Pink monorail, the operator, was taken to a nearby hospital and treated and released. January 12, 2010 - Walker Springs AL - UTU member Aaron Milhouse, 46, died Jan. 14 from injuries suffered as a result of a Norfolk Southern train fire Jan. 12. First responders had a difficult time reaching the scene because it is only accessible by rail." The Minnesota State Patrol said a single-vehicle, two-vehicle . Twenty minutes later,. A spokesman for the BNSF Railway, Mike Trevino, identified the victim as Emery W. Connor, the (Klamath Falls) Herald and News reported. James Romansoff, 58, of Yonkers, was hit on an elevated stretch of track at 106th St. and Park Ave., the latest in a spate of serious accidents on the commuter railroad, officials said. "I saw the lights of that car parked sideways go out. January 11, 2005 Steubenville, OH - A longtime employee of Wheeling-Pittsburgh Steel Corp. died Monday at the company's North Plant after being hit by a train in the rail yard. June 1, 1998 - Lubbock TX - A train accident at the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railyard killed a 24-year-old railroad employee early Monday morning. "That can be really good and just in some cases, but it can also be terrible and very hurtful. A later fatality inquiry by Occupational Health and Safety was told that there was significant interference from the CN at the time of the investigation. One man escaped from one of the engines and made it to a house to call 911. Sullivan learned her friend Steven Thomas had been gravely injured in a motorcycle crash when a photo taken just afterward appeared in her Facebook feed. June 13, 2018 Chicago IL A company contractor, working at a CSX intermodal facility, was injured and subsequently died in an accident. However, he notes: "But that's not really my sentence. Dawn Valles speaks about the impact the photo has had on her family on September 15, 2016. He had gotten off the tractor and was picking up metal debris by hand and throwing it into the tractor. Some of the debris hit the tractors controls, causing the bucket to swing around and pin the mans head between the bucket and the tractor. The Yorkville Police Department, along with Plano officers, Kendall County sheriff's deputies and the Bristol-Kendall Fire Department responded to the incident. He was born in Midmar, Aberdeenshire, Scotland October 7, 1891. Brothers Reed and Osborn were both members of BLET Division 266 in Savanna, Ill. CLICK HERE for the NTSB report. Most recently railroad workers and emergency response crews were called to the area to deal with a leaking tanker carrying a load of hydrochloric acid solution. He first joined the Brotherhood on April 1, 1998. [Note: The victim was later identified as Jamie Jijian. display: none; October 8, 2015 - New Orleans, LA - A contract worker who was part of a three-member contract cleaning crew working for Dedicated Trailer Cleaning Services suffocated to death on Thursday inside a rail tanker at the Port of New Orleans. It was, in the words of California Department of Transportation employee Tim Miller, a giant oven.. Dedes family wants anyone who works in "risky jobs" to always put safety first. The couple had been married for two months. Now she's been linked to a cult and a serial killer, Replica French chateau with 98 rooms is hidden in Bay Area suburb, After 35 years missing, an Air Force captain mysteriously reappeared in the Bay Area, Your Privacy Choices (Opt Out of Sale/Targeted Ads). Sept. 10, 2006 East St. Louis, IL - Alton and Southern Railway Company (ALS) 44 years old conductor with 8 months of service was fatally injured when crushed between two locomotives during a switching operation. -- December 7, 2001 "Engineer killed in BNSF siding collision". Brother Carter was a member of BLET Division 858 in Pine Bluff, Ark. "He was older than me, so he was like my older like, so I would listen to him. He joined the UTU in 1989. She was working on a section of track between Germantown and the town of Clermont near the border of Columbia and Dutchess counties when she was struck by a southbound passenger train traveling to Penn Station in New York City from Niagara Falls.The train, which consisted of one locomotive and five cars, was carrying 182 passengers and five crew members and no other injuries were reported, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.Rail service between Albany and New York City was suspended for about three hours while Columbia County sheriff's investigators and technicians worked at the scene. You can also follow us on Instagram: @railroad.workers.united, Railroad Workers Education & Legal Defense Foundation (RWF), Support Public Ownership of the Railroads, Support Coordinated Bargaining of All Rail Labor, Financial Assistance for Families of Deceased Railway Employees, continue to honor every fallen brother or sister, Track maintenance engineer Rick McColl, 53, of Hampton, Ont., died, Ontario's Labour Ministry is also investigating, Between the two of them, they had worked for Metro for almost 10,000 hours, Metrorail train 112 struck the rear of stopped inbound Metrorail train 214. Lillooet Subdivision, near Lillooet, British Columbia. May 20, 2019; 6 Injured In Multi-Vehicle Crash On I-495 . Rocla is a supplier of pre-stressed concrete crossties and switch ties for the railroad industry. May 3, 2008- WATERLOO, IA - An employee of GE Rail Services died Friday afternoon, authorities said. We mourn with the family of Jason Tunnel for this great loss. . Student Engineer since January 1, 1996. old at time of death, employed with Burlington Northern since July 1, 1980. He was a veteran of the U.S. Army, serving from 1986-1990. Gallery - 2019 Railroaders Killed on the Job. "All we know is that the truck was moving along at a pretty good rate of speed and just completely rear ended a stopped train." June 28, 2016 -- Amarillo, TX - Three train & engine railroad workers - Kenneth Smith, Cody Owens, and Lara Gayle Taylor - were all killed in train wreck in the Texas Panhandle when their trains collided head-on at a controlled point 25 miles Northeast of Amarillo. He was 56 years old. Jared was a man of strong faith, an avid knife maker, and was extremely devoted to his family and friends. Brother York, 26, joined BLET Division 811 in Clovis on April 1, 2004, following in the footsteps of his father, Glen A. York, who also belongs to Division 811. (In 1960, it was rededicated in honor of Thomas E. Caldecott, a local politician who championed the project.). Brother Wayne Connor, 56, was elected chairman of the BLE's Louisiana State Legislative Board just before his death.