NTSB releases preliminary report on Virginia train crash involving Congress members

WTKR ^ | 21 Feb 2018 | Staff

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CROZET, Va. – A train carrying dozens of Republican members of Congress, including House Speaker Paul Ryan, to their legislative retreat in West Virginia hit a truck on January 31, 2017 leaving one person dead.

Wednesday the National Transportation Safety Board released a preliminary investigation into the crash.

They said around 11:15 a.m., a 2018 Freightliner truck equipped with a McNeilus Truck & Manufacturing refuse body was traveling southbound on Lanetown Road in Albemarle County near Crozet, Virginia.

The refuse truck, operated by Time Disposal LLC, had a 30-year-old driver and two passengers as it drove towards a highway–railroad grade crossing, later identified. The crossing is active and includes advance warning signs and pavement markings on its approach, the National Transportation Safety Board said. The crossing is also equipped with crossbuck signs, warning lights, bells and gates.

As the truck neared the highway a westbound Congressional Special Amtrak train was approaching the highway–railroad grade crossing.

The NTSB said the train’s lead locomotive was equipped with a forward-facing track image camera. Data that was taken from the camera showed that as the crossing came into view, the gates were down and the truck was on the grade crossing. Witnesses to the crash reported that the refuse truck entered the crossing after the gates were down.

The train’s recorder showed the Amtrak train was traveling about 61 mph when the engineer applied emergency braking. The train struck the left rear of the refuse truck, causing the truck to rotate counterclockwise and then collide with a railroad signal next to the tracks. The refuse body separated from the truck, and the truck’s two passengers were ejected, according to the NTSB.

As a result of the crash, one passenger in the truck died. The other truck passenger had serious injuries and the driver of the truck had minor injuries. Three Amtrak crewmembers and three train passengers sustained minor injuries, the NTSB said.

NTSB investigators and Albemarle County Police Department officials and the Federal Bureau of Investigation documented the crash scene and the characteristics of the crossing, the train and the refuse truck. The track and operational characteristics of the crossing signals were also examined and documented.

The crash remains under investigation

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Preliminary Report- Highway: HWY18MH005

[Buckeye McFrog]

Time Disposal LLC (hereinafter referred to as “The Company”...)

[Olog-hai]

Close to 200 years of railroading and just in the past couple of decades, railroad crossings become a problem for a certain segment of road vehicle operators. The actual crossing is railroad property; those using the easement have to get through it as quickly as they can, or not enter it at all if they cannot.

[robroys woman]

Money quote:
Witnesses to the crash reported that the refuse truck entered the crossing after the gates were down.

[max americana]

That’s nice. Tell us something we dont know like what were the names of the 3 who were in the truck to start.

[Midwesterner53]

Meanwhile the Minneapolis Police Department still hasn’t released any information on their murdering cop of the year. I wonder why it is that some investigations take longer than others?

[Jim W N]

I believe the NTSB as far as I can throw them.

[gr8eman]

LOL!!! They used to pick up my trash! From the sounds of it, it’s likely “the Company men while drinking road sodas”!

[Cold Heart]

“

[shelterguy]

The driver of the truck ran around the gates to keep on schedule. Seen it plenty. This is not some major conspiracy. It is a screwup by a truck driver. That is all.

[ilovesarah2012]

But why?

[Alberta's Child]

The railroad industry has gone to great lengths over the years to improve safety. Grade crossings are the one area where they are practically at wits end, because it’s the one part of the rail system where they are forced to interact with an increasingly incompetent driving public.

[ilovesarah2012]

Testimony begins in Noor grand jury investigating shooting death

http://m.startribune.com/testimony-begins-in-noor-grand-jury-investigating-shooting-death/472815373/

[cpdiii]

Money quote: Witnesses to the crash reported that the refuse truck entered the crossing after the gates were down.

For this to have been an accident means the driver willfully drove around the gates and then had a mechanical difficulty that excluded him from driving on. The train "just happened" to be filled with most of the Republicans in the House of Representatives.

[PghBaldy]

I wonder if the people in the truck can read English?

[AnAmericanMother]

The 4-gate European style crossings are becoming more and more popular.

They are harder to circumvent - you cannot enter after the gates are down unless you actually leave the roadway.

I used to live a block and a half from one, and people WOULD still try to squeeze through. You can't claim it happened due to inattention, though.

Downside is that they are outrageously expensive.

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Executive Summary ​The information in this report is preliminary and will be supplemented or corrected during the course of the investigation. On Wednesday, January 31, 2018, about 11:16 a.m., a 2018 Freightliner truck equipped with a McNeilus Truck & Manufacturing refuse body was traveling southbound on Lanetown Road in Albemarle County near Crozet, Virginia. The refuse truck, operated by Time Disposal LLC, was occupied by a 30-year-old driver and two passengers as it approached a highway–railroad grade crossing, later identified as DOT crossing 224704E. The crossing is active and includes advance warning signs and pavement markings on its approach. The crossing is also equipped with (1) crossbuck signs, (2) warning lights, (3) bells, and (4) gates (see figure 1).

Southbound view of highway–rail grade crossing showing active warning devicesFigure 1. Southbound view of highway–rail grade crossing showing active warning devices.

At the same time, westbound Congressional Special Amtrak Train 923, operated by Amtrak and consisting of two locomotives and eight passenger cars, was approaching the highway–railroad grade crossing. The train’s lead locomotive was equipped with a forward-facing track image camera. Data extracted from the camera postcrash showed that as the crossing came into view, the gates were down and the refuse truck was on the grade crossing. Witnesses to the crash reported that the refuse truck entered the crossing after the gates were down.

Preliminary information from the train’s onboard recorder indicates that the Amtrak train was traveling about 61 mph when the engineer applied emergency braking. The train struck the left rear of the refuse truck, causing the truck to rotate counterclockwise and then collide with a railroad signal bungalow next to the tracks on the southwest side of Lanetown Road (see figure 2). The refuse body separated from the truck, and the truck’s two passengers were ejected. The truck came to rest off the southwest edge of Lanetown Road.

Aerial view of the highway-railroad grade crossing, truck chassis, body, and debris at final rest.Figure 2. Aerial view of the highway-railroad grade crossing, truck chassis, body, and debris at final rest.(National Transportation Safety Board drone) During the crash sequence, the front axle of the lead locomotive derailed as the train continued west; however, the locomotive remained upright (see figure 3).

Front of lead locomotive. Figure 3. Front of lead locomotive.

As a result of the crash, one passenger in the refuse truck died. The other truck passenger sustained serious injuries, and the driver of the truck sustained minor injuries. Three Amtrak crewmembers and three train passengers sustained minor injuries. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) investigators, along with personnel from the Albemarle County Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, documented the crash scene and the physical characteristics of the crossing, the train, and the refuse truck. The track and operational characteristics of the crossing signals were also examined and documented. NTSB investigators continue to examine issues related to the highway–railroad grade crossing. Investigators are also coordinating additional passenger and witness interviews and continue to gather information related to motor carrier operations, rail operations, and driver and train crew experience. All aspects of the crash remain under investigation while the NTSB determines the probable cause, with the intent of issuing safety recommendations to prevent similar crashes. ​The information in this report is preliminary and will be supplemented or corrected during the course of the investigation.

[SkyPilot]

If you believe Q, both this derailment and the one in December were Deep State (read: CIA) attacks and retaliation.

[Jim W N]

Well, I tell ya - I’d probably believe you before I’d believe the unconstitutional and per-se corrupt NTSB.

[Alberta's Child]

One of the advantages of the four-quadrant gates you describe is that under Federal Railroad Administration regulations, they are one of the key elements of a grade crossing where the trains aren’t required to sound their horns. Towns with a lot of late-night train activity are pushing them because they don’t like the horn noise.