Posted on 07/10/2009 8:23:09 AM PDT by Peter Horry
CANTON TOWNSHIP, Mich. (July 9) - An Amtrak passenger train carrying about 170 people struck a car that had skirted a gate at a road crossing near Detroit on Thursday, killing all five people in the sedan, authorities said.
The crossing has a gate and flashing lights that apparently were working when the car approached, said Sgt. Mark Gajeski, a police spokesman. Based on witness accounts, "it looks like they probably did go around the arm. They went around the gate," Gajeski said.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.aol.com ...
Death Wish granted.
Maybe for the driver. But I doubt for the other four occupants.
Multiple Darwin Awards.
Instead of having an arm that drops across the oncoming lane, how about a larger arm that drops and locks across the entire roadway, with concrete blocks to prevent someone trying to drive all around it? There’s something for stimulus, because with all the road/RR intersections in the US, replacing them would produce several thousand jobs, eh? Then you wouldn’t have 5 dead people just because at least 1 of them (driver) didn’t want to wait.
The story is horrible. A 14 year old girl in the car was with 4 older boys. She was wanting to go to the beach with one of them who was her boyfriend, and her mother told her no—to come home. The mom is blaming herself. It’s so sad.
The victims were a 14-year-old girl and four young men: an 18-year-old and a 20-year-old from Taylor, a 19-year-old from Woodhaven, and a 21-year-old from Stafford, Va., according to police.
All still living in the "I'm invincible" stage of life, too bad for the passengers but I don't have much sympathy for whoever was driving.
Oh, and why would there be a cooler like that at a horrific crash site, anyone know?
The quest for idiot-proof solutions will always be fruitless. The idiots will always find a way around them.
Reports have the car going around other vehicles waiting at the crossing.
Just a guess, but it looks like the guys cleaning up the mess are probably going to be there for a while. It’s most likely their water, cokes, whatever they’re using to stay hydrated in July.
Yep, nothing is foolproof to a sufficiently talented fool.
The victims were a 14-year-old girl and four young men: an 18-year-old and a 20-year-old from Taylor, a 19-year-old from Woodhaven, and a 21-year-old from Stafford, Va., according to police.
Sadler, 45, told the Detroit Free Press and Detroit News that she had told her daughter to hurry home instead of going to the beach with her boyfriend.
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Apparently Mom didn’t object to the 14 year old girl’s much older boyfriend either...
Can anyone tell me what kind of mom lets her 14 year old girl hang out with 4 older boys nowadays? I see absolutely NO problems that could ever happen in this arrangement. Most juniors or seniors don’t want to go out with a freshman anyway, I’d assume she was pretty hot. If not, those guys were losers. Either way not a good situation to allow your daughter to be in.
There is more information here http://www.freep.com/ , they are reporting that the driver had a suspended drivers license because of speeding and disobeying a stop sign.
Driving While Stupid. What a senseless way to die.
Damn. The 19 and 21 year-olds were brothers. One family has to bury two sons. How tragic.
Why not outlaw trains and cars and be done with it?
You are who you surround yourself with.....she made a terrible choice, as did everyone in that car.
Stupid driver. I'm sad for the passengers, unless they were egging him on.
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