Virginia

mahatmakanejeeves

(57,516 posts) Mon Nov 10, 2014, 03:48 PM Nov 2014

Liberty University student killed on train trestle in Amherst County

Last edited Wed Nov 12, 2014, 12:47 PM - Edit history (2)

Man killed on train trestle in Amherst County

Updated: 8:40 am, Mon Nov 10, 2014.

A man was struck and killed by a train Saturday night after venturing onto a trestle over the James River, reported Amherst County Public Safety.

The man, whose name was not being released, was on a trestle off River Road when a train struck him around 10:10 p.m., Amherst Public Safety Director Gary Roakes said.

Update: Candelight service planned for LU student killed at train trestle

Updated Monday, 11 a.m.:

Liberty University will hold a candlelight service tonight in memory of a student killed Saturday at the Riverside Park train trestle.

The ceremony for Jon Gregoire, 21, of Wilbraham, Massachusetts will begin at 8 p.m. on the steps of DeMoss Hall.
....

Gregoire is the second Liberty University student to die on the Riverside Park train trestle since 2011. In November of 2011, Hannah Williams was with four friends when she was struck and killed by a train.

In Saturday’s incident, a second person, 21-year-old Victoria Bridges of Newport News, was also injured. Bridges, who was in stable condition Saturday night, had been discharged from Lynchburg General Hospital by 11 a.m. Sunday.

Autumn Parry

Norfolk Southern was alerted to stop the train after it encountered a group of young adults on the trestle above the James River at Riverside Park on Saturday. Jonathan Gregoire, 21, of Wilbraham, was pronounced dead at the scene after being hit by an oncoming train, and Victoria Bridges, 21, of Newport News, was injured after she fell from the train trestle. (Autumn Parry/The News & Advance)

By coincidence:

Operation Lifesaver co-founder Sam Grayson dies

Rail News: Railroading People 11/10/2014

Sam Grayson, who co-founded the Operation Lifesaver program in 1972, died Nov. 2 at his Boise, Idaho, residence, Operation Lifesaver Inc. (OLI) announced last week. He was 93.

Grayson and Ed Schafer of Union Pacific Railroad, along with Idaho Peace Officers and then-Gov. Cecil Andrus, started Operation Lifesaver as a six-week public awareness demonstration program in Idaho. After the state's grade crossing-related fatalities fell that year by 43 percent, the program began to spread nationwide.

In 1986, the national OLI office opened to help support state programs and raise awareness of crossing safety and trespass prevention.

"The entire Operation Lifesaver organization extends its sympathies to Mr. Grayson’s family, and expresses our thanks to Sam Grayson and Ed Schafer for founding this wonderful rail safety education and outreach program, which today operates in all 50 states, as well as in Canada, Mexico, Argentina and Estonia," said OLI President Joyce Rose in a prepared statement.

Highway-Rail Grade Crossing and Trespass Prevention

Trespassing along railroad rights-of-way is the leading cause of rail-related deaths in America. Nationally, more than 431 trespass fatalities occur each year, and nearly as many injuries, the vast majority of which are preventable.

The reality is that nearly every 180 minutes in America, someone is hit by a train. Combined, highway-rail crossing and trespasser deaths account for 95 percent of all rail-related deaths and most of these deaths are avoidable.

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Liberty University student killed on train trestle in Amherst County (Original Post) mahatmakanejeeves Nov 2014 OP

Is this another exemplar of the Ghost Train narrative? longship Nov 2014 #1

No. It's an example of someone's being in a bad place at a bad time. mahatmakanejeeves Nov 2014 #2

Police issue tickets, summons at train tracks crossing mahatmakanejeeves Nov 2014 #3

Senate may make penalty harsher for those trespassing on train trestles mahatmakanejeeves Feb 2015 #4

longship

(40,416 posts)

1. Is this another exemplar of the Ghost Train narrative?

Reply to mahatmakanejeeves (Original post)

Mon Nov 10, 2014, 03:58 PM

Nov 2014

It has happened before.

http://www.wcnc.com/story/news/local/2014/06/20/11189267/

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/06/05/12073593-two-teens-killed-on-railroad-tracks-were-playing-ghost-train-game-coroner-says?lite

http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/two-missouri-girls-playing-ghost-train-game-die-when-train/article_205ca220-af06-11e1-b3dd-001a4bcf6878.html

mahatmakanejeeves

(57,516 posts)

2. No. It's an example of someone's being in a bad place at a bad time.

Reply to longship (Reply #1)

Wed Nov 12, 2014, 12:33 PM

Nov 2014

I'm not being judgmental, because I've walked across railroad bridges too. Yes, that's trespassing, and yes, in Virginia, you will get arrested if you are caught. In my case, this all happened years ago.

It's hard to imagine how anyone of us survived his youth.

That trestle is several hundred feet long and high above the James River. There's nowhere to go if you are caught out there.

More updates. All the candlelight vigils in the world won't bring him back.

Update: Candelight service planned for LU student killed at train trestle (Yes, that's their spelling of "candlelight." They'll fix it.)

Hundreds mourn Liberty University student killed at train trestle

Posted: Monday, November 10, 2014 10:24 pm

Eleanor Roy

Friends of Jonathan David Gregoire say they will remember the Liberty University senior for his passion of creating community through music, his big heart and his love of Jesus.

Gregoire, 21, died Saturday after he was injured by an oncoming train at the Riverside Park train trestle spanning the James River. Originally from Wilbraham, Massachusetts, Gregoire was a senior business administration-marketing major with a certificate in Bible.
....

Contact Eleanor Roy at (434) 385-5554 or eroy@newsadvance.com. Facebook: The News & Advance Crime and Public Safety Beat.

mahatmakanejeeves

(57,516 posts)

3. Police issue tickets, summons at train tracks crossing

Reply to mahatmakanejeeves (Original post)

Fri Nov 14, 2014, 10:43 AM

Nov 2014

Last edited Fri Nov 14, 2014, 11:30 AM - Edit history (1)

If I had a nickel for every time I have walked across and along the tracks at that location....

Still, it's a dangerous practice, especially for drunk or distracted students.

Police issue tickets, summons at train tracks crossing

NEWS
New fence the subject of controversy
by Katherine Ballington | Nov 11 2014 | 11/11/14 1:22am

....
Meanwhile, many students see the fence as an intrusion into their daily routine. Third-year College student Jenifer Carter said she believes students gained the right to legally cross the tracks over time.

“Crossing the railroad tracks – which has been an option left open to students for years where students have crossed continuously without issue — seems like a kind of legal easement or prescription,” Carter said. “Students have always crossed the tracks without complaints or lawsuits that I am aware of, so the right to do so seemed to be consistent with the rights of the owner of the tracks or the Virginia government.”

Don't count on it.

Third-year Commerce student John Studabaker said the fence may ultimately do more harm than good.

“I think it might cause more trouble than it aimed to fix because kids will get hurt trying to climb over the fence when they’re out late at night and intoxicated,” Studabaker said. “I think the fence seems useless.”

Clearly, it's much safer to trip and fall in the gauge when intoxicated.

The disappointment continues:

The City of Charlottesville and the University should have communicated more effectively with students about building a fence around the railroad tracks

Safety concerns: Railroad ticketing angers peds

mahatmakanejeeves

(57,516 posts)

4. Senate may make penalty harsher for those trespassing on train trestles

Reply to mahatmakanejeeves (Original post)

Wed Feb 4, 2015, 12:04 PM

Feb 2015

Senate may make penalty harsher for those trespassing on train trestles

Posted: Wednesday, February 4, 2015 10:50 am

Alicia Petska | Lynchburg News & Advance

RICHMOND — The Virginia Senate may move to step up the penalty for venturing out onto train trestles and bridges, citing in part the fatalities in Lynchburg. ... “I think we have to do something,” Pat Corp, a representative of the rail employee union SMART, told a panel of state senators this week. ... Corp cited three examples of people dying on Virginia train trestles in the past four years — two of which occurred on the Norfolk Southern span over the James River between Lynchburg and Amherst County.
....

Senate Bill 1416, introduced by Sen. David Marsden, would make it a Class 2 misdemeanor to trespass on a train trestle, bridge, tunnel or railway yard. ... Class 2 misdemeanors are punishable by a fine of up to $1,000 and possible jail time. Currently, trespassing on train tracks is a Class 4 misdemeanor and carries a maximum penalty of $250 in fines.

Marsden, D-Fairfax, said concerns about the trespassing statute were first brought to him by rail employees. ... “What these guys are telling me about is the trauma they go through when you’re on a train and you can’t stop, you can see it coming and you can’t stop in time,” he said. ... “We want to get these kids off these trestles … Hopefully, this will be a small step toward fixing the problem.”

SB1416 had an initial hearing before the Senate Courts of Justice Committee on Monday.
....

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