Shebly Co. Deputy Hit By Train

[bigbluemsp]

Shelby CO. Ky Deputy Hit By Train

Shelby County sheriff's deputy is in critical condition after an oncoming train at a railroad crossing hit his cruiser.


And WHAS11 News has learned that the deputy was not wearing a seatbelt at the time of the accident.


It happened around 10 a.m. Friday near Waddy, Deputy Sheriff Paul Dugle was leaving the firing range, crossing the RR tracks when wham! -- a Norfolk & Southern train plowed into his cruiser.


“We did have a deputy who is a paramedic. He was there at the scene. The deputy was recovered from the vehicle,” said Shelby County Sheriff Mike Armstrong. “We are a small department, approximately 27 employees, so yes, everybody knows everybody well and they know the families and yes, it’s an impact.”

Dugle was flown by helicopter to University Hospital in Louisville. Dugle has been a sheriff's deputy for at least five years.


Dugle's cruiser was left on the railroad tracks, at least 50 feet from where it was first struck by the train. B. F. Carriss, who's lived across the road from the crossing for four decades, says the crossing is a dangerous one because trees block the view of oncoming trains.


“You can’t see…. I don’t know any other way to say it, you know, it’s pretty dangerous.”


Carriss says trains often don't blow their whistles at the intersection, though this sign tells engineers they're supposed to. And as with most rural areas, there are no crossing gates to block traffic. A quarter mile up the road from the crash, at another crossing, motorists told us they always stop.


The investigation of this accident is focusing on whether the engineer blew his whistle before that railroad crossing.



http://www.whas11.com/topstories/stories/WHAS11_TOP_TrainAx.596acbd8.html

 

[KE4ZNR]

My thoughts and prayers are with the deputy and his family...but how the hell do you not hear a train coming? I mean there are bad intersections here in NC (and having lived in KY I know there are bad ones there too) but even with 3 different scanners and my car radio playing I can still tell when a train is coming...I hope that crossing is made safer due to the investigation...
Marshall KE4ZNR

 

[rananthony04]

Like the last line in the original post says, "The investigation of this accident is focusing on whether the engineer blew his whistle before that railroad crossing." Maybe the engineer is at fault on this one.

I can honestly tell you that I was almost nailed by a freighter in the Devore area of San Bernardino County (CA). This is a mountainous area with a campground and a few rail lines. (BTW, I was really young when this happened)I was goofing off, putting my ear on the tracks to see if I am able to feel vibrations. Although there were no trees blocking my view, there was a blind turn. As I got up, my brother who was with me yanked my shirt. It only took a split second to realize that he saved me from certain death. The point of this story is that I did no hear or feel the oncoming train and although there was a curve in the tracks, it was going at a good rate of speed. If I didn't hear it goofing off on the tracks, I'm almost certain the Deputy didn't hear it in his patrol car, more of a reason to show that maybe the engineer didn't blow his horn. Just my two cents. Thanks for reading

 

[ocscan]

Depending on the foilage and the angle of curve etc...the whistle is not able to be heard from all that far. Maybe adding the FRED head end TX and the tail end TX to unidens BearTrackers scanners could help in reducing these accidents. Also alot of EMS/FIRE/LE people seam to think that railway crossing rules apply to everyone except them...

My best wishes to his family, co-workers and the community he served.

 

[weather4ar]

Crossing Collision With A Cop

Shouldn't a fully trained and certified law enforcement officer know full well that grade crossings are dangerous? One would think so. One would also hope that the deputy would know the law about stopping, looking both ways, listening for an airhorn, and then proceeding across with caution. I don't buy the investigation into whether the engineer blew his whistle, he probably did. I fault the deputy here for not paying enough attention to oncoming traffic and potential unsafe conditions. The deputy should have to write himself up and pay the ticket out of his own pocket. That will make him pay more attention at crossings. Regardless of the circumstances, drivers should always be on alert for trains and be prepared to stop. Just my .02 cents.

 

[RolnCode3]

Shouldn't a fully trained and certified law enforcement officer know full well that grade crossings are dangerous? One would think so. One would also hope that the deputy would know the law about stopping, looking both ways, listening for an airhorn, and then proceeding across with caution. I don't buy the investigation into whether the engineer blew his whistle, he probably did. I fault the deputy here for not paying enough attention to oncoming traffic and potential unsafe conditions. The deputy should have to write himself up and pay the ticket out of his own pocket. That will make him pay more attention at crossings. Regardless of the circumstances, drivers should always be on alert for trains and be prepared to stop. Just my .02 cents.

I'll Paypal you back your 0.02. Talk about guessing. Sorry to intrude on the KY forum, but this is a ridiculous post...

Find the law that says you *HAVE* to stop at all railroad crossings.
Show us that the engineer did, or did not, in fact blow the whistle.
Prove it would have made a difference (I for one have heard of the Doppler effect).
Show where it was unreasonable (albeit unsafe) to cross a remote rail crossing (based solely on what the article says) without stopping.

I read this in the article...it proves nothing, but sorta' gives you an idea of the area:
[snip]"the crossing is a dangerous one because trees block the view of oncoming trains.

“You can’t see…. I don’t know any other way to say it, you know, it’s pretty dangerous.”

Carriss says trains often don't blow their whistles at the intersection, though this sign tells engineers they're supposed to. And as with most rural areas, there are no crossing gates to block traffic."[/snip]

Sorry, but this is the kind of BS that gets posted...and I'm tired of reading it.

Hopefully the Deputy will be alright, and some money might get invested in rail-crossing safety.

 

[benjaminfs733]

RolnCode3, don't worry about intruding on the KY site, your opinions are welcome. I am not sure where the previous poster came from. I will say this. I am a fully trained professional law enforcement Officer. I work a beat where they train runs through it. I bet there are 14 bridges/crossings. Just the other night I when busting right over a track on a small road toward a set of abandoned warehouses (a place I don't go much). I never even thought about a train coming. It is the only crossing in my beat that does not have lights and or arms. This being the case every where else I work I forgot to look. There was no train, but is scared me none the less. Point is, it can happen at a crossing with no lights, bells or arms when you are used to having them. Just a fact of life. I will say I read this thread when if first was written and have since then been a little more careful. However, there is still no reason to blast anyone for making a mistake given the circumstances.

 

[loumaag]

Just to acknowledge that I indeed get the report on a post in this thread I am going to comment on what I believe to be the law in most places...

School buses, tanker trucks, and other mass transit public transport vehicles (regular buses) are required to stop at all RR crossings, whether they have signaling devices or not. Automobiles, light trucks and other private vehicles do not. Now a bit about right-of-way; the railroad has the right-of-way, the crossing is on railroad property, it is the responsibility of the person crossing the railroad's path to be watchful. As for blowing, if it is proved that the engineer indeed did not blow for the crossing (a highly unlikely prospect if you know anything about railroads) he will be looking for a new job.

 

[RolnCode3]

Now a bit about right-of-way; the railroad has the right-of-way, the crossing is on railroad property, it is the responsibility of the person crossing the railroad's path to be watchful.

Operation Lifesaver is dedicated to education about rail crossing safety.
http://www.oli.org/

From their website:
"Train tracks are private property, no matter which railroad owns them. Trains have the right of way 100% of the time — over ambulances, fire engines, cars, the police and pedestrians."

 

[weather4ar]

Crossing Collision With A Cop

RolnCode3, I'm glad you took time to educate yourself on the OLS site. Hopefully, you should now finally understand my entire point. As a law enforcement officer, the deputy should have known and obeyed the law about stopping at the crossing. I wasn't bashing the deputy, I just said that I think it's his fault , and he should be the one ticketed, not the train crew. The OLS quote illustrates my point exactly..."Train tracks are private property, no matter which railroad owns them. Trains have the right of way 100% of the time — over ambulances, fire engines, cars, the police and pedestrians." That's the rule in most states. In fact, Operation Lifesaver, the railroads, and many local and state police departments have a "Trooper On A Train" program where officers enforce crossing safety laws from the locomotive cab. The officer on board the locomotive, radios officers on the street, who catch the drivers and hand out many large fines to motorists. That's no BS, and neither was my previous post.

Operation Lifesaver is dedicated to education about rail crossing safety.
http://www.oli.org/

From their website:
"Train tracks are private property, no matter which railroad owns them. Trains have the right of way 100% of the time — over ambulances, fire engines, cars, the police and pedestrians."

 

[RolnCode3]

I've known about OLS before this, and visited their website on several occasions. We have many rail crossings where I live.

I am not advocating holding the train crew at fault, even if they didn't sound the whistle.

I am also not seeing any law that *requires* the officer to stop at all crossings before proceeding. In this instance, he should have yielded the right-of-way to the train. But that's a 20/20 hindsight. Unfortunately, it sounds like several factors came together...thus causing the accident.

I still don't agree with you. The BS part was because of the guesses you took on how the whole thing went down :

[snip]I don't buy the investigation into whether the engineer blew his whistle, he probably did. I fault the deputy here for not paying enough attention to oncoming traffic and potential unsafe conditions.[/snip]

That's all I have to say.

 

[Tech-Anthony]

I have read all of these replies and I think it is absolutely stupid to blame the deputy even before an investigation has been started. In the report they arent blaming the train crew they said they are investigating whether or not they blew the whistle. If you havent lived in KY and in the rural settings of KY then you have no idea how dangerous it is to cross the tracks here. I was almost nailed by a train late one night on my way to work, did this train blow the whistle at the crossing NO. This was a crossing with no lights or gates and I didnt notice I had missed the train until after I looked back in my rear view. As stated in the article and from the guy that lives next to the crossing the view is obstructed by trees. So it wouldnt matter if you had parked your vechile there and looked both ways for an hour your view is still going to be obstructed. As with anything I will wait until all the facts are in before I go to pointing fingers and laying blame. What I am concerned about is this deputy's well being and that of his family. So wait until the whole story is in before you go to pointing fingers.

 

[royyount]

Hello from a new member. I live about 2 miles from where this happened. I am on the Fire Dept that responded to the scene. The crossing was a remote gravel road with a lot of trees and weeds. I am not sure why he did not see the train, but accidents happen. I hear that Mr. Dugle "34" is doing a lot better. I don't know if he is back on the streets or not.

 

[Tech-Anthony]

Hello from a new member. I live about 2 miles from where this happened. I am on the Fire Dept that responded to the scene. The crossing was a remote gravel road with a lot of trees and weeds. I am not sure why he did not see the train, but accidents happen. I hear that Mr. Dugle "34" is doing a lot better. I don't know if he is back on the streets or not.

That is great to hear glad the deputy is doing better. Hope he returns to work soon I am sure he is anxious.