WASHINGTON COUNTY, AR — A collision between a passenger train and a freight train sent 44 people to the hospital in Washington County, Arkansas on Thursday, October 16th, 2014. The news article from 5 News Online said that the accident happened just south of West Fork.
Authorities familiar with details of the accident have said that they believe 44 people were hospitalized after a southbound passenger train, operated by Arkansas-Missouri Railroad is believed to have slipped on leaves and came to a stop when the freight train – which was coming to assist the passenger train, hit it.
Several people were taken to different hospitals, and the conductor of one train was taken by helicopter with unspecified injuries.
The investigation into the accident is being handled by officials from the Arkansas-Missouri Railroad as well as local and state agencies.
Scene of the Accident
Commentary:
The news reports said that the train company sent a train to assist a stalled one, but didn’t know where it was specifically on the tracks, now, am I the only one that can’t understand how this happened? Don’t these train companies know where their trains are through modern GPS systems? I find it hard to believe a train can simply vanish, or that when it stalled, the stalled train conductor didn’t give them specific location data as to their whereabouts. If the train sent to assist the passenger train simply bumped it after coming around the bend, that is one thing, but to have several people critically injured after a violent collision tells me this train was moving at a pretty quick pace. If I were the train company behind this accident, I’d be pretty embarrassed by this debacle, and would be making a serious effort to make the situation right.
Commentary:
The news reports said that the train company sent a train to assist a stalled one, but didn’t know where it was specifically on the tracks, now, am I the only one that can’t understand how this happened? Don’t these train companies know where their trains are through modern GPS systems? I find it hard to believe a train can simply vanish, or that when it stalled, the stalled train conductor didn’t give them specific location data as to their whereabouts. If the train sent to assist the passenger train simply bumped it after coming around the bend, that is one thing, but to have several people critically injured after a violent collision tells me this train was moving at a pretty quick pace. If I were the train company behind this accident, I’d be pretty embarrassed by this debacle, and would be making a serious effort to make the situation right.
— Grossman Law Offices
