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Yesterday morning at work, I heard a loud "thump". Being in the building, I didn't hear the whistle or the warning signal at the crossing near the building that I work at. Figuring it was just the sound of construction going on near us, (I got used to the sounds of thumps etc) I went on a patrol.
I started hearing sirens, then saw a whole slew of emergency vehicles come to the front of my building. At first I thought some idiot had called 911 as a joke and then when I saw the GO train stopped and cops walking along the track, my heart sank. I reached the area, saw a pickup truck at the crossing with its front end smacked in, (the signal arm was wedged behind the back of the cab) and asked the cop if anyone was hurt. He replied 'no' and kept searching. I found out later they were looking for the license plate of the truck which was sheared off (they found it).
What had happened was that the truck approached the crossing, stopped at the last second, had the arm hit it and tried to back up. The train came by and smacked the truck's nose. The leading edge of the hood and fenders were neatly crushed in, the bumper was crushed, and the plate, grille and headlights were very neatly sheared off the truck. It almost looked like the parts were taken off carefully as I couldn't see any bits hanging on to the truck. I overheard the guy saying that the arm came down abruptly before the signals and lights activated so this remains to be seen in court. The crews were at the scene for the rest of the day after the cleanup was done testing the signals and checking the tracks for damage.
Heard the news broadcaster giving his broadcast later and apparently the guy is facing over a thousand dollars worth of fines as he was charged with "Making an improper stop", "Ignoring warning signals", "Failure to have an insurance card" and "Operating an unsafe vehicle". That broadcast may have been seen on CTV.
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Some people lack common sense
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Kevin
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Quote:Some people lack common sense
That which created all things and all life, (what I refer to as God) in his infinite wisdom, created a finite amount of common sense. Man, in his infinite ignorance, overpopulated that amount.
Is it simply that I am aging, and becoming more cynical, or is Humankind evolving into a creature that is totally out of touch with the dangers of their environment. Will we truly become extinct because we believe nature's laws don't apply to us? As much as "we" seem willing to deny our creator, our "creations" seem to "deny" us.
Does the term "natural selection" have any significance to anyone?
In some parts of the natural world, we are still prey.
We always learn far more from our own mistakes, than we will ever learn from another's advice.
The greatest place to live life, is on the sharp leading edge of a learning curve.
Lead me not into temptation.....I can find it myself!
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Lets see.......arrested for not having an insurance card and operating an unsafe vehicle. But the operator got out of the car in plenty of time . Makes one wonder if he was thinking ahead.....and how he was going to make an insurance claim....????? Our society has too many people trying to "game" the system and hope they can figure out a way to screw someone else for their inability to be a positive asset to our society. And of course I am sure there will be some lawyer right there ready to cast "ALL" blame on the railroad.
If they could prove it was pre-planned, they should assign the culprit to the railroad and let him shovel ballast for the rest of his life.
dwight77
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Quote:If they could prove it was pre-planned, they should assign the culprit to the railroad and let him shovel ballast for the rest of his life.
That.......would be justice !!!, therefore, it will never happen.
We always learn far more from our own mistakes, than we will ever learn from another's advice.
The greatest place to live life, is on the sharp leading edge of a learning curve.
Lead me not into temptation.....I can find it myself!
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MadModeler Wrote:Yesterday morning at work, I heard a loud "thump"..
I guess that means that you work close to where I live... 
My wife was at home and called me at work to tell me about the "Accident". She heard the crunch and the sirens and got the details from CP24...
I looked up the location on Google Maps and looked at the Satellite Picture.
From the account that I heard, I just couldn't beleive that the driver couldn't get off the tracks in time...
Put the peddle to the metal and get out of the way.
Reversing into the closed gate has got to be the most bone-headed manouver I'd ever heard of...
dwight77 Wrote:If they could prove it was pre-planned, they should assign the culprit to the railroad and let him shovel ballast for the rest of his life.
Give the guy a hammer and a pile of boulders that he can spend the next few years bashing into ballast like they used to! 
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TinGoat Wrote:MadModeler Wrote:Yesterday morning at work, I heard a loud "thump"..
I guess that means that you work close to where I live... I definitely do!
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MadModeler Wrote:the signal arm was wedged behind the back of the cab From this sentence, it sounds like either a semi or a pickup truck, hard to tell exactly. My first impression was that its a pickup truck, and that he couldn't move from where he was because the arm had come down and wedged in place between the cab and bed of the truck, so proceeded to exit the truck. I may be 100% wrong, but thats the way I read it at first
-Steven-
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MadModeler Wrote:(the signal arm was wedged behind the back of the cab)
Heard the news broadcaster giving his broadcast later and apparently the guy is facing over a thousand dollars worth of fines as he was charged with "Making an improper stop", "Ignoring warning signals", "Failure to have an insurance card" and "Operating an unsafe vehicle". And very possibly was yammering on his cell phone at the time!
Ahhhh, you just gotta love the Train Monster,. . . . . it tries to clean up the defective gene pools.
Maybe the E.P.A. should get involved, the train monster could use the help.
We always learn far more from our own mistakes, than we will ever learn from another's advice.
The greatest place to live life, is on the sharp leading edge of a learning curve.
Lead me not into temptation.....I can find it myself!
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viperman Wrote:MadModeler Wrote:the signal arm was wedged behind the back of the cab From this sentence, it sounds like either a semi or a pickup truck, hard to tell exactly. My first impression was that its a pickup truck, and that he couldn't move from where he was because the arm had come down and wedged in place between the cab and bed of the truck, so proceeded to exit the truck. I may be 100% wrong, but thats the way I read it at first Yes. It was a pickup. Ford F250 if I remember correctly.
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