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Crossing mishap tragic reminder of railroad dangers
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A tragic accident that took the life of a Brookhaven woman this past week is a reminder of the importance of paying attention to railroad crossing gates.
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For whatever reason Wednesday afternoon, Fannie Black choose to ignore the railroad crossing gates that had lowered on Monticello Street. The southbound Amtrak caught Black's car in the passenger side door - dragging her Daewoo station wagon to the Cherokee Street crossing. She died a few hours later at King's Daughters Medical Center.
Not too many years ago, outrunning trains at downtown crossings was considered just part of Brookhaven driving - maybe even a sport. The downtown crossings were regularly blocked for seemingly endless periods with slow-moving trains at all times of the day. It was frustrating.
With The DAILY LEADER's downtown location on Railroad Avenue, our staff has witnessed its share of accidents and close calls over the years.
We remember one particular accident many years ago, days before Christmas that claimed the life of a local woman. At that time dual rails of northbound and southbound tracks came through town. Apparently frustrated with a slow-moving southbound freight train, the woman immediately took off across the tracks as the final car of the southbound train passed. She never saw the northbound train that appeared at the same instant. The back seat of her car was stuffed with wrapped Christmas gifts.
The Canadian National Railroad corrected the congestion problem a few years back by removing the second rail and eliminated switching in the downtown area. The time for waiting on passing trains has decreased significantly - now rarely for more than a few minutes.
Of late we have noticed more and more drivers ignoring downtown crossing signals in a hurried attempt to cross before an oncoming train reached the crossing. Why the sudden increase? Train traffic congestion has not increased, so only those guilty know the reasons why.
Following Wednesday's deadly accident, hopefully others will take the tragic event as a reminder to relax and enjoy the short delay from the fast-paced, hectic world we live in today - so that they and their family can enjoy tomorrow.
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©The Daily Leader 2009
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