“Every three to four hours someone is struck by a train either at a crossing or on foot,” Flatau said. “The sad reality is the majority of the events are preventable.”
It is only legal to cross railroad tracks at designated crossings.
People who walk, run or ride recreational vehicles elsewhere on railroad tracks or bridges and in tunnels, and along adjacent rights of way, are trespassing on private property and risk getting hit by a train, said Alan Stouder, state coordinator for Ohio Operation Lifesaver, which is part of the national educational nonprofit group focused on eliminating all vehicle- and pedestrian-train collisions.
“So when people make a choice to use it as a shortcut, to hunt on the tracks, ride their motorcycle, whatever, all of those things are against the law. They are putting themselves in danger,” Stouder said.
“Once (locomotive engineers) see something and apply the brakes (and horn) all they can do is hope and pray you get out of the way because they know they are not going to stop in time.”
He said the fatal train strikes leave grieving relatives and friends of the victim and traumatize train crews and first responders.
Tipp City resident Chris Steele is the husband of one of the five local victims, Cynthia “Cindy” Steele, 47. On the night of April 8 they were walking from their home to the local VFW. Steele said he was several feet behind his wife when she attempted to “beat the train,” crossing the tracks as the railroad arms were down at the West Walnut Street crossing.
“I’ve second-guessed myself time and time again about what I did or didn’t do that night. Should I have run behind her and grabbed her?” Steele said. “The way I was raised, as a man, it’s my duty to protect my family and to protect my wife … so many things run through your head after something like that — what could I have done in that little space of time?”
Credit: Marshall Gorby
Credit: Marshall Gorby
Longtime Amtrak locomotive engineer David Estes had numerous fatal pedestrian or vehicle strikes while operating passenger trains on the Amtrak Cascades line during his more than three-decade career. He remembers each strike, reliving it when passing the place where it occurred on his Amtrak route.
“You feel the impact and you pretty much know what’s (happened). You’ve done everything you can do. You sit there and it’s a helpless feeling. You wait for the authorities to show up to confirm what you already know,” said Estes, who is on leave from Amtrak since being elected national secretary-treasurer of the Ohio-based Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen in 2022.
“When you have a multiple fatality in a vehicle strike it’s really horrific on the crew and the first responders,” Estes said.
He’s served as a peer counselor for crews involved in train strikes and held classes for trainees, preparing them for the likelihood of a fatality. Federal rules require that train crews involved in a strike get paid time off and an offer of counseling. Both Estes and Stouder, who spent 41 years working for railroads, know engineers who quit the job after a fatal strike.
“There are very few locomotive engineers or conductors that are going to work for a career without having one, if not multiple, vehicle or pedestrian strikes,” Estes said. “It is a trigger for the rest of your career. You’re never going to forget that.”
Pedestrians die in five Dayton region cities
Five pedestrians died in five local cities after being struck by trains between March 3 and April 8.
- On March 3 in Fairborn David Sparks, 66, of Fairborn, was lying on the tracks near East Xenia Drive when he was struck by a Norfolk Southern train, according to the Fairborn Police Department report.
- On March 10 in James Risner, 51, of Middletown, was found dead next to railroad tracks near Mohawk Street and Waneta Avenue. Authorities believe he likely was struck by a Norfolk Southern train the previous evening, according to the Middletown Division of Police report.
- On March 16 Jennifer Carswell, 42, of Germantown, was struck by a CSX train as she walked near the railroad tracks near Beachler Road and Fairy Lane in Carlisle, according to the Ohio State Highway Patrol report.
- On April 1 Steven W. Flitton, 41, of Dayton, was standing on the tracks when he was truck by a CSX train near North Keowee Street and East Monument Avenue in Dayton, according to the Dayton Police Department report.
- On April 8 Cynthia Steele, 47, of Tipp City was struck by a CSX train after she walked around lowered crossing arm gates at the West Walnut Street CSX railroad crossing in Tipp City, according to the Tipp City Police Department report.
In all but Risner’s case train crews spotted the victims on or near the tracks before impact. They were unable to stop in time, according to the reports.
“A train is so big and heavy it takes a train a long time to stop,” Stouder said, noting that the average freight train going 50 mph will travel more than a mile before braking brings it to a halt. “So that’s over 18 football fields for the train to stop.”
Credit: Alexis Larsen
Credit: Alexis Larsen
The five local deaths in a five-week period is an unusually high death toll, considering that last year across Ohio 13 people were killed in railroad “trespass incidents,” which is the FRA term for deaths of pedestrians or those riding vehicles on or around the tracks but not at a designated highway railroad grade crossing.
Those trespass incident deaths in Ohio were up 8.3% compared to 2014, according to this newspaper’s analysis of FRA data tracking all incidents involving freight or passenger trains.
Thirteen people were injured in Ohio railroad trespass incidents in 2023, a 28% decline from 2014.
Nationwide casualties for trespass incidents rose dramatically in 2023 compared to 2014. In the U.S. in 2023 there were 736 trespass incident deaths, a 57% increase since 2014, and 673 injuries, up 59% since 2014, the data show.
In 2023 highway railroad grade crossing collisions involving trains and vehicles or pedestrians in Ohio killed six people, up 50% since 2014, and injured 25, a 19% decline compared to 2014.
Nationally deaths and injuries at highway railroad grade crossings declined 4.6% and 13% respectively in 2023 compared to 2014. There were 250 deaths and 757 injuries at railroad crossings nationwide last year.
The 2014-2023 FRA data also show that during the ten-year period:
- 5,351 people in the U.S., including 144 in Ohio, were killed in trespass incidents.
- 5,160 people in the U.S., including 147 in Ohio, were injured in trespass incidents.
- 2,517 people in the U.S., including 68 in Ohio, were killed at highway railroad grade crossings
- 8,306 in the U.S., including 222 in Ohio, were injured at highway railroad grade crossings
Suicides involving trains are tracked separately from the trespass and railroad crossing data. In 2023 there were two in Ohio and 178 in the U.S., according to the FRA.
Credit: Alexis Larsen
Credit: Alexis Larsen
“Despite significant strides to advance rail safety, pedestrian and grade crossing incidents have remained a persistent challenge across the nation,” said Jessica Kahanek, spokeswoman for the Association of American Railroads. “Overwhelmingly, these are preventable tragedies that change lives and families forever.”
How do people get hit by trains?
Ohio is one of the top five busiest rail states in the nation, with more than 5,100 railroad track miles and about 5,600 public highway-railroad track crossings, Stouder said.
Over the years crossings nationwide have been fitted with more lights and gates, brighter LED flashing red lights and sensors on the tracks that give notice that a train is coming, Stouder said. About 70% of crossings in Ohio have warning lights and/or gates, known as active warnings, instead of just passive warnings like crossbucks and signs, he said.
“Ohio is one of the more proactive states, whereas most states are 50-50,” Stouder said.
Flatau said the majority of grade crossing collisions are due to driver inattentiveness or error. People drive around lowered gates and ignore flashing lights or signs, perhaps misjudging the train’s speed or distance.
“The lights and gates are there not to keep you from getting somewhere,” Stouder said. “They are there to save you.”
Credit: Alexis Larsen
Credit: Alexis Larsen
Sometimes vehicles stall or have a flat tire on the railroad crossing tracks, or otherwise get stuck, he said. People on bikes or pushing strollers can also get caught on the tracks, and Operation Lifesaver recommends that people in wheelchairs get assistance or choose an alternate route to avoid crossing the tracks.
“We tell people no matter what happens, get out, get away and call for help,” said Stouder, adding that people should call 911 and alert the railroad of an emergency by calling the phone number on blue and white notification signs posted at crossings.
Away from the designated crossings it is challenging to keep pedestrians or people riding recreational vehicles off the tracks. Fencing areas that are particularly problematic and stronger enforcement of trespassing laws can help, but those interviewed said education is key.
“When it comes to keeping the public safe near the tracks, everyone has a role to play,” Kahanek said. “To do their part, railroads invest heavily in public education programs including Operation Lifesaver, maintaining and improving grade crossings and advancing tech-powered solutions such as partnerships with Waze to help empower the public to stay safe near the tracks.”
Operation Lifesaver, the FRA and the railroad association all offer train safety tips, such as telling people to never ignore warnings, always expect a train, stay 15 feet away from the tracks, never cross tracks except at designated areas and stay off bridges and out of tunnels.
Credit: Contributed
Credit: Contributed
Operation Lifesaver volunteers like Stouder make safety presentations in communities and schools and at companies, conferences, social clubs and festivals.
“People need to make good safe decisions,” Stouder said, making a pitch for more volunteers to help get the group’s message out.
The most common reason for pedestrian strikes is because people choose to trespass on or along the railroad tracks, railroad bridges or in tunnels — sometimes while wearing headphones — while hiking, jogging, walking a dog, or taking a shortcut, Flatau said.
“With tunnels, with bridges people get stuck,” he said. “They forget that the train overhangs the rails by a couple of feet.”
Some people choose to ride all-terrain vehicles, dirt bikes and snowmobiles on railroad right-of-way and don’t hear the train coming behind them, Stouder said.
“And you have your everyday thrill seekers, your YouTube video/TikTok people that want to do something outrageous.” he said.
“People try to play chicken. They stand in the track and jump out at the last second. Some want to jump on the car and see how far they can ride it,” Stouder said. “You have people who go to railroad bridges and trestles and bungee jump or dive in the water beneath it. So there is a lot of thrill seeking going on.”
They may get away with it, or it ends tragically, he said.
Estes said part of the Amtrak line runs along Puget Sound so people wanting to get to the water trespass on railroad property. And he said a couple of pedestrian strikes by trains he was operating occurred where there were large concentrations of homeless people in urban areas.
“They’re out there, (some of them) oblivious to a train and a headlight and a whistle,” Estes said. “You can only assume that they’re on something.”
Stouder agreed that drugs and alcohol can play a role when pedestrians get struck by trains.
“Sometimes it’s just someone stumbling from the bar and wants to take a shortcut,” Stouder said. “And they make a bad decision.”
Those interviewed emphasized that people need to understand the danger they put themselves in when they step or drive on railroad tracks.
“Most of this stuff is really just ordinary folks taking shortcuts and not seeing, hearing or feeling the train’s approach, misjudging the distance of the oncoming train, which is a really easy thing to do given their size and mass,” Flatau said. “Trains don’t have steering wheels. They can’t swerve out of the way.”
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