Crash Victim Sues Texas Pacifico for Overgrown Vegetation

I wasn't there, I don't know both sides, so maybe there's more to this. But really? Sueing because there weren't arms and blinking lights? How about the tracks themselves? Everyone knows what travels on them. I would be very interested to see pictures of how "blinding" this vegetation was. And to sue the conductor for not hitting the brakes, thats ridiculous. He had no way to know whether or not the vehicle was going to stop, since most do. And it wouldn't have done anything. I feel that its common knowledge, and the article even states that it took the train over 1,100 feet to stop. This poor guy did nothing wrong and its going to cost him a fortune to fight a court battle because someone probably doesn't know personal responsibility.
I said probably...

Either way, a very tragic accident. My prayers to the "victim" and family

I live right near where she crashed and I agree that the vegetation grows very thick and close to the track. However, common sense dictates that if you can't see something, you stop and listen. You can hear trains for miles around 1692. Not just the horns blowing, but even the sound of the train moving on the track. I'm sorry she got hurt and suffered so greatly, but her injuries were due to her own negligence that caused the crash. Maybe she should sue her driver's ed instructor instead, that would make more sense.

Because a 15 foot tall, 500 ton, earth shaking mass of iron is easy to miss.

This is a terrible situation but I'm very frustrated by her decision to sue the engineer. The father of a childhood friend of mine was an engineer. He came to my driver's education class one day when were discussing railroad safety. He told us stories about people making mistakes and getting themselves killed by trains he'd operated throughout his career. It was very intense, but he got the point across.

I asked him what he can do when he's moving along at a normal speed and sees an accident waiting to happen in front of him. He choked up and said that over the years he's learned the best thing he can do is hit the brakes and close the window/look away so he doesn't have to see or hear the sounds of the person's life being taken. He'd say a prayer that the person would survive and immediately start life saving efforts when the train stopped, but it affected him severely knowing that there was often nothing he could do to save them.

When I asked "Don't you feel the impact of car when you hit them?" He shook his head and said with compact cars it just feels like it would to run over a tin can in an automobile.

After hearing my friend's experiences and seeing the emotional impact these kinds of events had on him, I can't help but sympathize with Sliger, who is probably already feeling terrible about a situation completely beyond his control. Worst part is they don't get paid much more than an average salary, so the only thing she'll win in a lawsuit against him is the knowledge that she's causing his children to starve.

Good job.

Texas Pacifico is a regional railroad under the jurisdiction of the Federal Railroad Administration, which has limited the TXDOT owned track speed to thirty miles per hour. If the train was allowed to travel sixty miles per hour and would have been pulling frac sand hoppers, it would have traveled over a mile a mile or more before it would have been able to stop. Further, the FRA is continually prowling the right of way of all American railways including Texas Pacifico looking for violations to impose fines to fill the Federal coffers. Yes, this includes mesquite trees near public crossings.

The outcome of this suit is a foregone conclusion if you examine the “Veterans Parade” lawsuits in Midland when a Union Pacific intermodal train hit a trailer load of disabled veterans and their families.

Did the FRA find the railroad did any thing wrong? Was the signaling system operable or consistent with FRA directives? Was the train traveling at or below thirty miles per hour? All of these questions are answered “No” both in Midland and at Miles. Litigation here in San Angelo will result in the same verdict as it did in Midland, tossed out of court on the first day of the trial. A word to Max Parker, read the Midland trial records.

Another thought, FRA and TXDOT approved lighted Quad gate crossing protection would cost up to a half a million dollars at each public grade crossing. These crossings are required based upon the numbers of cars and trucks crossing the tracks on a daily basis. Taxpayers cover half the cost. She would have crashed the gates anyway.

First of all I just wanna say most of the comments here are ridiculous. Nobody is perfect and we ALL have been a reckless driver at one time or another. Some of us just get caught at the wrong time. If you say "oh well I'm not reckless and your just a moron". No, your an idiot and you need to throw yourself in front of a bull. Anyway, train crossways need to have arm crossings at ALL crossways! Now how hard is that?? So many avoided injuries and you save money in the end. Now before you go and say "that's not needed and you just need to look both ways". No, not everyone is as "smart" as you. So please slap yourself really hard for me please. Anyway, I believe it should be a law and trains should ALWAYS use horns! AlWAYS! No matter what, your conducting a giant line of weight and steel! You better be the number one most alert person in the world because you know not everyone is listening for a train. And before you go and say "well that's not my fault if they don't listen!" Although that may be true, it's not your fault but like I said not everybody has 20/20 vision or the best eardrums. But it's so obvious that almost everybody in this comment section is a superhuman. That's false, your not. Your a normal human being that makes mistakes. So instead of spreading your hate for being broke and unhappy. Rather show some sympathy because it could have been a family member and you know damn well the tables would be different then. So yeah, get over yourselves. And have a great day!!!! :D

Subject: Just the Facts TF
According to the Federal Railroad Administration, the federal agency that regulates and enforces federal law concerning America’s rail system, there are approximately forty seven thousand one hundred and eighty two hundred (47,082) route miles on America’s Class I, Class II, and Class III rail lines. Texas Pacifico is a class III. There is approximately one crossing at grade for every one mile of track. Multiply the average cost of a lighted and gated rail crossing ($ 350,000.00) times the number of crossings and the cost comes to Sixteen trillion, five hundred and thirteen billion, seven hundred million dollars ($ 16,513,700,000,000.00.) This figure eclipses America’s national debt. Gated crossings are installed at the discretion of TXDOT in cooperation with the FRA.

The next fact is that most grade crossing accidents are caused when drivers ignore the crossing gates, bells, and lights in their attempt to win the Darwin Award.

The next fact is that unless the FRA cited Texas Pacifico for some violation, there is no case.

All of my children and children in law have extensive Operation Life Saver Training and most of them have worked with the FRA’s former Director of Grade Crossing Safety, Tom Woll. My wife and I also recommended him for the Hoy Richards safety award and attended the presentation event in 2013.

It is unfortunate that the young lady did this to herself, but all of this depends on the FRA report on the accident. If the FRA did not cite Texas Pacifico, there is no case.

You also need to know that neither my wife or myself or either broke or unhappy.

TF, your comment is by far the most ridiculous one that I see here. You're right, most people have done something reckless at some time or another. But the issue at hand here isn't her poor decision to cross when she did, it's that she's decided to sue all other parties involved that had nothing to do with her reckless driving.

You say how hard is it to have arms at all crossways? I say how hard is it to just look? It's common sense, why do you think that not everyone is "smart" enough to do this? People have been doing it for decades! It works, try it! Where do you see the money savings in this amazing plan of yours to install arms everywhere?

And if you don't have "20/20 vision or the best eardrums" to the point that you can't see a big train coming your way, you definitely are gunning for the darwin award that Charles is referring to. You need to save yourself and just stay home.

So what does being broke and unhappy have to do with applying logic to a system that has been in place since way, WAY before you were ever conceived? It seems to me that you are here advocating for a person that is spreading hate as you say (suing), because they messed up and are now broke and unhappy.

And finally, I -and probably most here- have sympathy for this young lady, as far as the tragic event that she has gone through. And yes, it could be any one of our family members that had this happen and the "tables would be different." But that doesn't mean people with good standards, morals, and self respect would try to sue everyone involved if they were the ones to blame. Sometimes you just have to be realistic, which you nor this young lady are.

So, none of your comment makes sense to me. In my humble opinion, your mentality is one of the very large problems with our nation today. Trains, and the tracks that they ride on have been around for ages. Since before the roads that cross them. What makes you think that you deserve any more than the people before you? Why do you HAVE to have arms at each crossing? Your feeling of entitlement disgusts me. I work my a$$ off every day for my measly paychecks and I'm proud to show what I have for it, because I've earned every bit of it. I've never taken, or expected anything. I have no health insurance because I'm paying for everyone else's, car insurance is too high because I have to have uninsured to cover for the a-wipes that won't buy their own, on and on. Why should my tax dollars buy you some fancy crossing arms because your too lazy to look!? Hell, I say take all markings away entirely and let people fend for themselves. It shouldn't matter, those 2 steel rails crossing your path are only there for one reason. The same reason they have always been there. Nothing else of consequence will ever be on those tracks! So when you see any break in the road that slightly resembles tracks ahead, there's only one reaction that any responsible person should have. LOOK. Its not the conductor's job, it's yours. He couldn't stop if he wanted to, balls in your court. But thanks for making me out to be a superhuman for doing what I thought was just the ONLY thing to do in those situations... plenty more to rant about but my blood pressure is getting too high and I'm rambling.

Thanks for the facts Charles, interesting numbers!

Look I'm sorry everybody got mad at me. I really am. I have since went out to DPS and re-read my manual for everybody that disagrees and have since chopped up my license. I hope your all happy now. I also just want to add that I want you all to have a great day!!!! :D

Just got an email from my old friend that headed grade crossing safety for the FRA. There is a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that absolves railroads of responsibility for an accident like this. Unless there is something else like the FRA citing Texas Pacifico for the Mesquite Trees (unlikely), then WS&S has no case.