Reynolds, IN — More than 20 people had to be treated for injuries after an accident involving an Amtrak train near Monticello, Indiana, on Tuesday, October 28, 2014. The accident happened just east of the intersection of U.S. 421 and County Road 200 North, at the railroad tracks.
Jeffrey Hatfield was driving one of two trucks that were headed east on CR 200 around 8:15 that morning. As they came to the railroad tracks, the first truck crossed, and Hatfield followed. The cab of his truck made it across the railroad tracks safely, however, the Amtrak passenger train traveling north tore through his trailer.
There were 56 passengers on board the train at the time. Of those, 24 were injured. Emergency workers took eight to Indiana University Health Monticello Memorial Hospital, while another 16 were treated at the scene.
The rest of the passengers were eventually taken by bus to their original destination.
Scene of the Accident
Commentary
I’m just going to state the obvious here: The truck driver was at fault for the accident. But let me tell you why he was at fault. Federal law has set forth very specific guidelines as to how a semi-truck is supposed to cross railroad tracks. The driver has to make a complete stop, look both ways, put the truck into a single gear and move across the tracks without changing gears. The thinking behind that last one is that, if the truck needed to change gears and speed up in order to miss the train, they shouldn’t have been trying to cross in the first place.
Is it at least possible that the truck driver isn’t at fault here? In the interest of giving everyone the benefit of the doubt, yes, it is possible. But the only scenario I can think of where that would be the case is if his truck in some way malfunctioned. Possible? Yes. Likely? No.
The trucking company is going to be liable for the victims’ injuries. This presents us with two different scenarios. The first is that this is a huge trucking company that has enough insurance to make sure that everyone is adequately taken care of. The second, and much more likely scenario, is that this is a smaller company, and the truck involved in the accident is under-insured. In that case, you’re going to have everyone who was injured trying to push to the front of the line to make sure their bills are covered.
So, there are still a few unanswered questions as to how all of this will play out. But as far as liability is concerned, there’s no doubt. Beyond that, there’s one more thing that should be looked at. The semi-truck was hauling a load of powdered cement, and after the crash there were pictures from the scene showing the stuff covering the train and the truck and the immediate area. Hopefully none of the passengers were exposed to that, because that stuff can cause some pretty big long-term respiratory problems.
— Grossman Law Offices
