General Discussion

Public Safety

An adventurous life cut short on the railroad tracks

By Dan Morse and Donna St. George September 15
@danmorse
@donnastgeorge

John DeReggi, 16, and his girlfriend wanted to get their pictures taken at a picturesque spot near their homes in Boyds, Md. It was near railroad tracks. Lots of kids have been getting their photos made there.
....

According to Montgomery County police, a northbound Amtrak train struck John DeReggi just before 5 p.m. Monday {September 14} in the community of Boyds, about 25 miles northwest of the District.

Investigators were still trying to learn precisely what DeReggi did in the moments before he was struck. According to his friends and family members, he went there with his girlfriend, Natalie Crim, and Natalie’s twin sister, who planned to use at least one of the photos as part of a school assignment.

Several factors could have been in play. Trains are quieter than people think; their size makes them look slower; if they’re coming right at you, gauging speed is difficult. ... “There’s very little clicketyclack. They can really sneak up on you,” said Robert Halstead, president of IronWood Technologies, a firm that reconstructs train accidents. ... He likened the deceptive speed of trains to those of planes as they’re landing. Even though planes are going 150 mph, “it kind of looks like they’re just hanging there.”