Tulsa World: Tulsa County leads state in derailments, injuries

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Tulsa County leads state in derailments, injuries

VICTIM
Travis Spence: His station wagon was crushed by a train in October 1995, leaving him with debilitating brain injuries.

By GAVIN OFF World Data Editor
Published: 9/14/2008 2:21 AM
Last Modified: 10/24/2008 10:07 AM

Search three databases that offer details related to all train accidents in Oklahoma from 2000 to 2007, including train and vehicle accidents and injuries. Also find out more about Tulsa County leading the state with about 12 derailments a year.

Thirteen years after the accident, Brenda and Eugene Spence still have to feed their son.

They still help him into the bathtub; they still dress him.

"We have to do everything for him," Brenda said. "He can't walk. He still can't brush his teeth or comb his hair."

Thirteen years later Travis Spence still thinks he's 17 years old, and that's on a good day. Some days he thinks he's 12, other days he simply can't remember.

In 1995, on a foggy October morning, 17-year-old Travis was driving home from a friend's house in rural Canadian County when his station wagon was crushed by an oncoming freight train.

Travis was thrown across the car and wound up among the twisted pieces of metal along the passenger side.

The 3 a.m. wreck was one of more than 100 train-vehicle collisions in Oklahoma that year. And although the accident rate for trains has since decreased, the state still records about 60 train-vehicle wrecks each year, a Tulsa World analysis found.

But for the Spence family, the 1995 crash was particularly devastating. Their bulky 6-foot-1-inch teenage son who worked at Pizza Hut suffered debilitating brain injuries.

"It took the car and scooted it down the track some, then turned it on its side and scooted it some more, then turned it upside down and pushed it into a ditch," said Brenda of the train.

In all, Oklahoma has recorded 1,042 train accidents from 2000 to 2007, according to data from the Federal Railroad Administration. About half involve collisions with vehicles, and most of those accidents take place at crossings without gates or flashing lights.

Tulsa County consistently leads the state in derailments and train-related injuries, data show.

Recent wrecks

Recent weeks have been particularly harrowing for the state's railroads.

On Aug. 29, a Union Pacific train smashed into a propane tanker truck south of Medford in Grant County. The train's conductor and engineer died at the scene. The truck driver died later at a Kansas hospital.

A week earlier, eight cars of a 110-car Burlington Northern Santa Fe train derailed and exploded northeast of Oklahoma City. Seven of the cars carried either crude oil or ethanol. No one was injured, but the explosion sent flames and smoke billowing from the wreckage.

The Federal Railroad Administration is investigating both accidents.

Although there are bound to be wrecks, railroads are the safest mode of ground transportation, said Tom White, spokesman for the American Association of Railroads.

White said the industry's accident rate continues to decline, and 2007 marked its safest year in terms of train-vehicle collisions.

But railroad critics said the industry isn't doing enough to protect the public. Last month's fatal crash and derailment are proof, they said.

"It's all about their bottom line," said Bob Pottroff, a Kansas lawyer who's handled hundreds of railroad-related cases. "Public safety is really not a concern unless they can save money on it."

Injuries

Oklahoma has recorded 832 train-related injuries from 2000 to 2007. Tulsa County tops the list with about 14 a year.

Most injuries are minor, such as bruises and sprains, but the federal database also lists 11 crushing injuries, 17 amputations and 146 deaths in the state.

About two-thirds of the state's railroad deaths involve a collision with a vehicle.

In July, a 42-year-old Vinita woman died when a train smashed into her SUV, reports state.

Late last year, two Kansas teenagers died when a train struck their family's van in Craig County.

In early 2007, a 32-year-old Mayes County man died when a train hit and pushed his car more than 2,000 feet.

The vast majority of train-vehicle collisions 95 percent according to the railroad administration, U.S. Department of Transportation and National Transportation Safety Board are in part the result of driver behavior.

"Those are accidents that the railroad has very little control over," White said.

Others disagree.

"My 95 percent is a different 95 percent," Pottroff said. "Ninety-five percent of these accidents are totally preventable by the railroads incorporating new technologies like gates and lights."

Two-thirds of Oklahoma's train-vehicle accidents happen at crossings without gates or flashing lights, data show. Such crossings account for about 65 percent of the state's train-vehicle fatalities.

Brenda said Travis was hit at a dark crossing with no gates or flashing warning lights. She said her son had not been drinking that night.

According to a lawsuit the family filed against the railroad company, the crossing was not properly marked, and the area was overgrown with brush, clouding Travis' view. The lawsuit also said the train failed to properly blow its horn before the crossing.

Although state and local governments typically study a crossing before funding a warning device, railroad companies can erect a gate or light themselves at any time and with their own money, said Matt Skinner, spokesman for Oklahoma's Corporation Commission.

But usually the companies leave it up to the local or state government to say where a signal is needed, Skinner said.

Brenda said she wished every crossing was equipped with warning devises.

She even wrote Oologah officials when they wanted to stop trains from blowing their horns at a particular crossing, thus making it a quiet zone. The letters included pictures of Travis.

"I just wanted them to understand that this could happen to one of their family members or their children," Brenda said. "And you don't want to do what you're going to do."

Oklahoma railroad statistics

20 railroad companies operate in Oklahoma

3,256 miles of track cut though the state

More than 6.4 million carloads of freight cross Oklahoma each year

56 percent of the freight the state ships is nonmetallic minerals

59 percent of the freight the state welcomes is coal

Figures based on 2006 numbers provided by the American Association of Railroads

National accident and injury statistics

Trains killed 7,246 people nationwide from 2000 to 2007

Trains injured 79,328 people nationwide from 2000 to 2007

Train accidents not involving a vehicle numbered 23,982 nationwide from 2000 to 2007

Train accidents involving a vehicle numbered 24,618 nationwide from 2000 to 2007

Numbers derived from Federal Railroad Administration database

Gavin Off 732-8106
gavin.off@tulsaworld.com By GAVIN OFF World Data Editor

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ajohnb, Jenks (9/14/2008 11:27:10 AM)

While I feel sorry for this young man, it is still a fact that 95% of the accidents are caused by motorists. I have a daughter and a brother that are railroad conductors and it just tears them up whenever their train hits a car. They see it coming and they blow the whistles and put the train in emrgency, but there is no way to stop a train that fast.

Stop, Look, and listen. The railroads have taught this for years. No different that at a 4 way stop. You learn to yield the right of way. (Ok, so most people have no understanding how to handle a 4 way stop).

The lawyer whose say railroads are not doing enough is an ambulance chaser. Sure there are going to be derailments and accidents. But again, people these trains are monsterous. You will not win that battle in a car or a truck.

Before you slam me, my wife was involved in an accident years ago when a train backed up in a crossing and the tail end train car hit the vehicle she was riding in. No lawsuit, the bills were taken care of by the railroad.

Plus, who would pay for all the power to get to all the rural crossings to put up gates. In years past, there were a lot more gates but due to people vandalizing the gates and stealing the lights and such, they started disappearing.

I am not involved with railroads. To the contrary, I manage a trucking operation and there is no love lost between the two industries.

But, people, take responsibility for yourself. Don't be in such a hurry to get to the mall that you do not pay attention to railroad crossings. If people were not so busy with their cell phones and ignoring the dangers around them, it would cut down on accidents everywhere.

BTW, I would like more details about the propane truck. They are required to stop at all crossing regardless of signage. Same with school buses. You don't hear about school buses getting hit by trains.

STOP, LOOK, AND LISTEN

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charlestace, Tulsa (9/14/2008 7:04:53 PM)

The headline reads, "Tulsa County leads state in derailments, injuries." The story says, "Tulsa County consistently leads the state in derailments and train-related injuries, data show."

Yet the examples cited are from: Canadian County; Grant County; "northeast of Oklahoma City"; Vinita; Craig County; Mayes County.

In other words, NOT ONE SINGLE SOLITARY ITEM in the story supports the headline. Good grief.

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