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Posted by: Rick_Eberle Nov 13 2005, 06:21 PM

Well, I guess this qualifies as a bad day at the office.

Friday morning at 8:35, a beautiful day, driving a train at 80 kph with maybe 1400 commuters on board. I see a guy sitting beside the track, say 50m away. He stands up, and starts to walk across the track. He stops in the middle of the track, turns to face me and waits for it.

I blew the horn and slapped the brakes into emergency, but was probably still doing 70 when I hit him. Trains don't stop like cars, so it took about 300m to stop. I called control to let them know, then jumped out and ran back, and found him under the fourth carriage, folded in half, unconscious but still alive. There was nothing I could do to help him, and in the state he was in I probably would have caused more damage if I had tried to move him, so I headed back to the front of the train to update the train controllers, and make some PA announcements, and wait for my relief.

So I'm off work for a week or two. Maybe I'll get some work done on the 914! The turbo tie rods I got from the club store are waiting to be installed!

Posted by: zymurgist Nov 13 2005, 06:25 PM

Holy cow! Do they offer any kind of counseling where you work? That has got to be hard to deal with.

Posted by: bd1308 Nov 13 2005, 06:27 PM

Yeah, from what I have heard, being in the train engineer business is real emotionally rough.

Posted by: boboli914@att.net Nov 13 2005, 06:29 PM

Posted by: scotty b Nov 13 2005, 06:32 PM

Sorry to hear about that. Sounds like an obvious suicide attempt though.Nothing more you could have done.

Posted by: Jeroen Nov 13 2005, 06:37 PM

crap dude...

Posted by: Rick_Eberle Nov 13 2005, 06:38 PM

QUOTE (zymurgist @ Nov 14 2005, 10:25 AM)

Holy cow! Do they offer any kind of counseling where you work? That has got to be hard to deal with.

Yeah, once I was relieved, the first stop was a trauma clinic to speak to a psychologist, and my union rep called as soon as they heard about to make sure that I knew what services are available to me. Also, I've got mates on the job who I can talk to about it.

Posted by: SpecialK Nov 13 2005, 06:42 PM

Wow, that is a bad day at the office Rick! Sad that people that feel the need to commit suicide have to traumatize total strangers to accomplish it. Hope you're alright. Nothing you could do.

Posted by: Bruce Allert Nov 13 2005, 06:55 PM

That has got to be one of the worst sites to behold. I was walking in town a few years back & came upon an accident that had just happened. An elderly lady stepped out in front of a compact car. She was underneath folded in many directions I didn't stay to watch...

Sorry you have to go thru this ugly situation.

.......b

Posted by: olav Nov 13 2005, 07:06 PM

I heard a story of a guy in New York City fell between the train and the landing just as the train was coming.

He ended up jamed between them but was consious.

The conductor came to the scene and said to the guy "What religion are you so we can give you your last rights and do you want me to get your nex of kin"

The asked him what he was talking about because he felt fine. Just wanted to get this train off him.

The conductor said that he had been "wound up" his pelvis was spun around many times and that the pressure was holding him together. Once the train is removed he would unspin and his guts would just fall out of him.

Apparently, he could live like that for about a couple of hours because all the nerves were severed and he felt no pain.

Ouch!

Posted by: seanery Nov 13 2005, 09:21 PM

Sorry to hear this Rick!
If there is anything I can do, or we as the club can do, don't hesitate to ask.

Posted by: Aaron Cox Nov 13 2005, 09:27 PM

QUOTE (seanery @ Nov 13 2005, 08:21 PM)

Sorry to hear this Rick! If there is anything I can do, or we as the club can do, don't hesitate to ask.

anything I or anyone can do. just ask man

Posted by: messix Nov 13 2005, 09:28 PM

i have 2 friends that drive trains for B/N S/F they hit cars a lot, people not as often. shakes you up when you can see their eyes.

though thing to only be able to just hit the slow to a stop button.

Posted by: Spoke Nov 13 2005, 10:13 PM

Sorry to hear about this. Although the real tragedy is the person that was hit, I hope you'll make it through this. Will there be an inquiry? My father-in-law was an engineer for Conrail and when someone was hit, the engineer was let off work until a board investigates the incident.

Spoke

Posted by: scruz914 Nov 13 2005, 10:54 PM

If that isn't a bad day at the office I don't know what is. Working on your 914 can be good therapy. It will keep you and your mind busy. Hope everything works out for you.

-Jeff

Posted by: fiid Nov 13 2005, 11:02 PM

That's terrible - that's definately a sucky day at the office. There's nothing you could have done.

Let us know if theres anything we can do.

Posted by: Lou W Nov 13 2005, 11:07 PM

I accidently hit a girl on a moped once, its a terrible feeling even when its not your fault, make sure you take advantage of any help or counseling if it is available.

Posted by: Hawktel Nov 13 2005, 11:54 PM

Killed a guy with my Jeep about 9 years ago. He was a pedestrian, ran out from infront of a Bronco that was stopped. Not my fault, the police told me there wasn't anything I could have done. Your's sounds worse, because you saw it coming, my notice things were wrong was when the windshield broke.

I felt so bad, I didn't go through my insurance to fix the Jeep. I fixed it all myself, and that started me on working on cars.

It sounds like yours was suicide by train. Get help if you need it.

Posted by: Mark Henry Nov 14 2005, 06:47 AM

My father-in-law was a subway driver, then inspector for the TTC. He went back to just driving bus because he couldn't handle this sort of thing.
Always a bunch of jumpers at Christmas time.

Posted by: Flat VW Nov 14 2005, 03:19 PM

sobering.........


John

P.S. Good Luck to you

Posted by: ThinAir914 Nov 14 2005, 05:27 PM

I can't think of a worse day at the office than this. It doesn't help that the person did it on purpose. Flagstaff is a railroad town, with two tracks running right through town that are the main connection from Chicago to Los Angeles. We don't see many car/train accidents because of crossing bars, but unfortunately we see accidents just like this all to often. Usually it is just the stupidity of the person, but sometimes it plays out just like this one. I always say a prayer for the train crew because they are the victims and I'll do the same for you. Working on the 914 will be very good for you.

Posted by: crash914 Nov 14 2005, 07:12 PM

Man, I thought my Friday sucked....

I hit a deer on the way to take my son to a scouting event...I was not driving the 914, just the wifes MV. Now I have to fix it...

Take a breather, nothing you could have done...

Posted by: SLITS Nov 14 2005, 07:18 PM

The RR crossing is 1/2 block from our business. Two years ago, one of "societies disadvantaged" decided to lay across the tracks in front a passing freighter.....engineer could do nothing........my best to you!

Posted by: jsteele22 Nov 14 2005, 08:10 PM

Wow,

I don't know what would suck more than that. But its good to see that, even though most on this forum are guys, there's plenty of encouragement to get some kind of counselling. I'm not saying you shouldn't have a nice cold beer and watch a rugby game, but I'd definitely second the opinion about talkng to someone. From the sound of it, there's absolutely nothing anybody in those circumstances could have done - no snap decision, no extra precaution, no specialized training or skill, nothing. It just happened. But I think it's just human nature to go through it again and again and say "What if...". Anything that can help you work out some of that stuff is sure to pay off in the long run.

Posted by: Rick_Eberle Nov 14 2005, 10:43 PM

Thanks for all the support guys!

It's nice to to be able to unload on someone other than my wife, who heard about it all weekend. It's also nice to know that I have friends who I have never even met!

We just moved into our new place last week, and all of our stuff was put in the garage while we do a quick paint job in the house. I spent yesterday moving boxes and repacking some stuff to make room for the 914. I also dug through all our crap to find all of the paperwork that I need to eventually register the 914. The import approval, California title, etc. It was lost in the move, and I was a little concerned about it all.

I got an "Unregistered Vehicle Permit" last week, and actually drove my 914 for the first time since January '01. Seven and a half miles! She ran a little rough, but still goes like a rocket. You should have the looks on the other driver's faces... WTF kind of car is that???

I haven't quite sorted all my tools out yet, so I may hold off on the tie rods, but I do have some other jobs to do. I have some nice foglights and grills in my ebay stash. It's a tight fit in the garage, but my car finaly has a home!




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Posted by: Rick_Eberle Nov 14 2005, 10:50 PM

No, it's not George's secret 914 warehouse...


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Posted by: Lou W Nov 14 2005, 10:56 PM

I hope you don't have to worry about earthquakes down there, those boxes sure are stacked pretty high.

Posted by: Rick_Eberle Nov 14 2005, 11:12 PM

QUOTE (Lou W @ Nov 15 2005, 02:56 PM)

I hope you don't have to worry about earthquakes down there, those boxes sure are stacked pretty high.

Only from the sound of my engine...

Posted by: MecGen Nov 15 2005, 04:22 AM

I have seen many, many things that nobody should see.
This is one of the memories nobody should have to deal with.
All I can do is send +Karma your way, done

Later

Posted by: Mark Henry Nov 15 2005, 06:43 AM

And I thought I was a pack rat...holy crap!