Bicycle Rider Struck By Train Dies at Scene of Accident
A 47-year-old man riding his bike was killed the night of the 10th after he was struck by a train. Police stated the bike rider bypassed the gates blocking the passage over the train tracks and did not hear the train coming because he was wearing headphones. The gates are reportedly equipped with flashing lights and loud bells, which should have prevented the bike rider from crossing the train tracks. A police lieutenant stressed the importance of obeying the signals on train tracks and other road constructions in order to prevent this type of accident from happening in the future.
Although this incident was labeled as an accident because of the man’s failure to obey the traffic signals and stop before the train crossed, there are many incidents when these types of accidents are found to be the fault of the train operator. In some cases, the train operator may unintentionally fail to stop the train before striking a pedestrian or other vehicle crossing the train tracks. Trains usually operate at very high rates of speed and it is often extremely difficult for the operator to stop the train before the accident occurs regardless of how much they try to stop it. In those cases, the train operator could still be held responsible for the accident. This train crash incident appears to be a tragic accident and the victim unfortunately lost his life, but it is very easy for an accident like this to occur due to negligence from the train operator.
