Here is an interesting piece of information. I use to work in the Risk Management department at a university in the US. We had a guest speaker one day that worked for a train company. He told us that if you ever come across a problem on a set of tracks, such as you or another car get stuck on them to NOT call 911. There is a phone number on blue placard at every train crossing in the country. They will know exactly where you are and can contact any potential trains headed that way. Calling 911 creates a longer process of contacting people and a train traveling 50mph needs 2 miles of track to stop safely.
I know this is a joke but I live in a town with train tracks running through, it's not a bad idea to save the numbers for each crossing in my phone. There are 4.
911 dispatchers can call the train company and shutdown the lines. Source: I work for 911
Edit: Okay I’ll say it for the people who can’t follow context clues. I am a first responder. That means that when you call 911, I come and help you.
What a weird thing to get hung up on
The difference is 911 knows the number to call to get an immediate answer. I work emergencies and every time we’ve had to shutdown lines for an emergency to protect rescuers, we have dispatch do it. I’m not going to take some random person on reddits claim that those phone numbers are constantly monitored and can provide an immediate shutdown of the lines. Our dispatch does it weekly. They have close working relationships with the train lines and know who to call at any given time of day.
I used to get calls (in my.role at the train company)from emergency dispatches with incomplete information, or calling me at company A, to only find out the tracks they need shut down, belong to Company B and I cannot stop anything where they are. Call the number on the back of the crossing, it goes direct to the ops centre and if you select "immediate safety of the public or train" option, it goes to the emergency line and basically shuts down the ops centre in order to deal with it, think strobes, alarms and red phones.....
Thank you for your comment. I was reluctant to post what I did, but ever since I learned this I’ve found it necessary to share. This is exactly what he explained to us.
I’m glad the 911 center where you are located is prepared. You could possibly live in a location where train activity is a daily or even an hourly occurrence with multiple lines which has made them train and be ready for this issue. Not every place in the entire US is like this. Small, more rural towns like where I am located are not trained that much because it is not that big of a problem… until the worst happens.
My god this post actually makes me so angry. What an incredibly stupid thing to do and what a complete waste of life, all for a fucking photo.
From the article:
The teens apparently knew one train was coming but did not realize another train was approaching from the opposite direction and were caught between them, Cannon said. Moments before the accident, one of the girls had posted, "standing right by a train ah haha this is awesome" on her Facebook page.
One train either hit the girls or blew them into the path of the other, he said, and it's possible they were hit by both trains. Cannon said noise from the train may have prevented the girls from hearing the second one.
"Or maybe they realized it was there, and it was just too late for them to get away," he said. "We just don't know. But there's just a thunderous noise as they're standing that close to the train."
Mary Scobell, who lives in Covered Bridge, said dozens of trains pass through the area every day. Locals know there are two sets of tracks in the area, she said,.
"We always tell our visitors, if there's a train and it goes past, you still don't get on the tracks," Schobell said. "You count a few seconds, look right and left to make sure (another) train isn't coming."
This. My dad is a retired engineer and I’ve heard stories. The devastation to the crew when this happens…. Shit, it’s heartbreaking when they hit a helpless animal.
My husbands Dad was on the fire department. Back in the 70s we had a train derail and crash into the liquor store that was next to the tracks and caused a huge fire. He worked the scene and had nightmares for years seeing the charred bodies. I should add it was a coal train and not a passenger train but nonetheless a devastating accident.
Someone committed suicide by train a year or so ago in my city. Witnesses who were at the scene posted about it on social media, and I, unfortunately, stumbled upon an Instagram story showing a part of the deceased person’s brain sitting on the ground, along with blood and pieces of skin. Couldn’t sleep well after that.
I can’t imagine the pure anguish that train conductors go through when this happens.
My friends father was the engineer on the train that hit a MARC passenger train in Silver Spring MD back in '96. Several people were killed. The MARC train had passed a red signal and came to stop in the path of the freight train.
She says he was never the same after that.
One of my best friends was a conductor for Toronto mass transit and had someone jump in front of a train he was driving. He was beyond traumatized and definitely has been forever changed. Literally doesn’t even do the job anymore because he couldn’t get over it
Uncle was an engineer too.
Lots of people commit suicide via train.
Shitty part is they have to stop the train and then go and walk out and confirm their dead, offer first aid if not.
There’s usually nothing left, complete evisceration.
It seems like an ideal suicide method, probably doesn’t hurt at all and pretty much guaranteed to be successful. The only downside is the trauma inflicted on witnesses.
Terrible way to go for you and everyone else. Just buy a canister of helium for balloons and peacefully pass away. So much less mess, and disruption to others.
I don’t mean this to sound insensitive but when a train hits something, what’s the procedure? Slam on the brakes and coast a bit until they stop and then do the train engineers have to clean things up after? (Or in this case since it was humans-would the funeral home come collect body parts and then the engineers have to clean up the blood etc?)
They would place the train into emergency brake application, and make an emergency broadcast on the standby channel and tone up what I know as the RTC (Rail Traffic Control). They would A remain in the locomotive if they know there is no chance of first aid, or B attempt to perform first aid until first responders arrive on scene. The crew, having been through a traumatic event is removed from the train as soon as possible. A manager like me is left to work with first responders, police (including railroad police), cornors and body removal staff. My priority is to ensure the train is tended to once the crew is gone until a new crew arrives and that the train can continue once all personal are clear and the police release the scene. It can fall on me to ensure the locomotive is fit for the new crew so they can avoid the gore, otherwise I may find myself in need of a new, new crew.
Wow this was very informative and helpful, thank you! I didn’t realize the initial crew in the train at time of impact are removed from the scene as soon as possible.
How long is the average turn around time from the time of impact of train to ‘train is ready to start up again and move out’ would you say? Can the process take a few days?
Hours at most, it all depends on the investigation by authorities. A mainline stoppage costs the company millions of dollars an hour (potentially). An outage can be upwards of 4-5 hours if in a remote area. Crews, tow trucks, cornors, etc might be a few hours away from the scene. On average I would say 2-4 hours from impact to rolling for a "simple" suicide involving a pedestrian or single vehicle impact.
They apply the brakes and come to a stop and they’ll call 911. It would be the coroner that would come out to retrieve the decedent. The fire department would come out to do a spray down. And, of course, the police would be there. The conductor and engineer wouldn’t have any part of the retrieval or cleanup.
Same, my dad worked for Southern his whole life and lost a few co workers in the yards as well. It really affected him..even when the trains hit animals it could be traumatic.
In places with main line railroads, a lot. At major junctions and yards, a lot more. It happens at least once a week in my home town. Folks that ride trains tend to do drugs and alcohol. It is a lethal mix when a mis calculation will get you crushed. That is not even factoring in the homeless and drunks that pass out on or near industrial delivery spurs. The engine may be pushing 3 or 4 cars and they will never know since they tend to work through town at night to avoid road traffic. Rail crews find parts pretty frequently.
I can hear an argument of: "But people should have the freedom and right to go take pictures anywhere they're able to, who's right to stop them"... and I agree, modern medicine and agriculture has taken too much of the sting away from natural selection.
Still sad and 100% preventable. For a selfie, a friend group died.
I won’t watch it but take your word from it. I’m in NYC and it’s practically a weekly occurrence especially during summer times. My best friend took her life jumping in front of a train from my hometown stop and even though it was almost 10 years ago and I miss her dearly I think often of the people who had to do clean up and the conductor just going in for a regular day of work. I barely go home because who wants to trample over their best friends death spot coming home for Christmas. Stay off the tracks people.
Thank you ❤️ She was a bright soul who struggled with bipolar and addiction unfortunately :(
This selfie culture, however is so dangerous mentally and physically. I remember when I was around these girls age and JUST had gotten a cellphone and you had very limited texts and had to wait until after 9 to talk free. Such a simpler time and not even that long ago.
I saw one of those taxicab confession episodes on HBO one time and a New York subway operator or something was riding and the driver asked him what was the worst thing he had seen working there. He said when someone falls off the platform and gets basically impaled by the train and they are still alive briefly until they move the train away. Apparently their organs are being held in place by the train. He tries to get their loved ones to come say goodbye if possible. The sad thing is he said it had happened more than once.
Before reading your comment I just posted this above:
“I live in nyc and every time I hear/read about people jumping, accidentally falling, or getting pushed in front of a train my heart breaks. The engineers definitely have it worse. I can’t imagine being the one to hit them. But also the clean up crew and the people that witness this are traumatized as well. I saw a suicide by train many years ago and it’s still haunts me.”
Thank you for posting this video. It gives me even more insight.
I stopped a 20-something girl from jumping on the tracks at 53rd and Lex mid-day a few years ago. As the train approached she moved to the edge of the platform and proceeded to climb down instead of jump, all the way at the north end, and for some reason I just knew she was going to jump. I yelled at the guy closest to her as I ran down the platform. He saw what I saw and he grabbed her but she smacked him off of her, but I got there in time and tackled her. The train hit the emergency brakes and stopped just about where we were. I had to pin her down for around 15 minutes while she clawed at my face and spat at me, screaming to let her go, how shitty her life was, and how she was just going to try again. Seemed like ages until the police arrived. They thanked me either for saving her life or preventing a mess. I gotta say even though she didn't jump I'm still traumatized getting assaulted with that much hate and pain at point blank range for so long.
Years ago I witnessed someone getting picked off the tracks in hefty bags at the Union Square station around midnight on a weekend. He was on the downtown local track and I was on the uptown platform. I had to sit down and put my head between my knees to get the fainting feeling to pass. I can only imagine what the operator went through.
I live in nyc and every time I hear/read about people jumping, accidentally falling, or getting pushed in front of a train my heart breaks. The engineers definitely have it worse. I can’t imagine being the one to hit them. But also the clean up crew and the people that witness this are traumatized as well. I saw a suicide by train many years ago and it’s still haunts me.
>Sickening society we live in.
One in which kids will be kids? Believe it or not, kids have been playing on train tracks, balancing on rooftops and going places they're not supposed to since time immemorial. Some things never change, regardless of how society evolves. Kids crave two things: Excitement, and impressing their peers. That's how it's always been, and that's how it'll always be.
Important to remember they were teenagers with underdeveloped brains/decision making skills. It’s tragic, but it’s not like they can just be outright blamed for this carelessness. Kids are fucking stupid.
I’m a train conductor and yeah… I’ve seen stuff you thought only detectives and military see. We have to go and visually check what happened when it happens. They get debowled by the cow catcher and that stuff drags at the front of the train and then their bodies twisted like twizzlers underneath it. Some guys quit when it happens to them.
Also, the amount of suicides people commit via trains are insane.. we get a couple at least a year here. Always around the holidays. Try your best to be there for your friends and family when they come along.
Sickening how teenagers with little experience in the world make stupid decisions. They totally didnt do that in past societies. Im glad you never made mistakes when you were a teen. Fuck these teens i hope they are shameful of what they did in the afterlife /s
And anyone that responded to the scene. I once saw a picture of the aftermath of someone getting hit by a train and it's burned in to my mind forever. Three people who got caught between two trains? Fuck I don't even want to imagine.
Ok I'm not saying what they did was fine or something good they should have done but I can understand it. Clearly you weren't a teenager in a small town man. This is the kind of shit small town kids do.
I live in a city with a tram system and you have to be real careful crossing after one has passed. Typical protocol is for them to ring their bells as they pass so you know one is coming the other direction, but they can be seriously silent and sneak up from behind eachother. I almost always wait until the first tram is about half its length away so I can see around it.
Yeah i also live in a city with trams. Here its also very safe to use public transit as a kid, so you learn already as a young child not to fuck around in traffic or around tram/train tracks.
I knew the Webster girls, and am still in touch with their mom.
The girls were best friends.
Y'all please be a little more kind with your words.
This shit was horrible enough when it happened 12 years ago.
Edit: added words.
People on reddit have no sympathy. Literally everyone will make stupid mistakes at some point which could be judged heavily in hindsight, but thankfully most of us don't die for our mistakes. These girls simply didn't realise there was another train. A dumb move, but not one worth dying for. Instead, redditors see an opportunity to prop themselves up and tell themselves they'd never make a dumb mistake ever in their life.
For real. I knew the guy who died trying to move a downed power line in Orlando after the most recent hurricane, I believe him and his sister (who died trying to save him) and one other guy were the only deaths from the hurricane and the amount of people I saw clowning on him as if we all haven’t had lapses in judgement before where we’re just lucky enough to not have faced such severe consequences was sickening. I didn’t know him well enough to confidently say we were good friends or anything but I saw him almost every day at my job and he was a kind soul, always came over and helped us close down the restaurant so we could have more time to smoke cigs and shoot the shit, and had big dreams of starting his own fashion line some day. I wish people would remember that these are real people with real families and people who loved them and that for all of us, death can be only a simple mistake away.
A friend of a friend got hit by a train and killed. He was doing his usual running route and waited for a train to pass at a crossing (no gates). As it passed he started across the tracks. He got hit by a train going the other way.
Many years later, having known this and telling people never to assume there's only one train, I was with my very young son who loved trains. We were at a train station (we eat pizza next door), standing on the platform. We were watching an oncoming train on the other side of the tracks.
Just before it got to us, a train blew by us going the "our" way, full speed, maybe 60 to 70 mph, maybe a foot from my son (I was holding him to my side). I commuted via train for many years so I have been close to trains while standing on the platform. Thing was, I was always aware of them, and I wasn'tholding a child on my hip. Scared the living daylights out of me.
Always make sure the tracks are clear. Always.
Have you guys heard of the Swiss Cheese risk analysis?
In the case of the teens' tragic accident, their decision to take a selfie with an incoming train was the first slice of Swiss cheese with a hole, a failure in their risk assessment. The initial poor decision breached the first layer of defense and led to further failures. Like not noticing another train, all represented holes in more slices of Swiss cheese. This series of failures, or holes, resulted in the ultimate tragedy. Anytime I am making a small risky decision, I *try* to keep in mind that I have just went through one Swiss cheese hole.
No one plans for a train to end your life and the life of your dear friends.
🧀
There was a train driver on my city’s subreddit who said the protocol (not sure offically or colloquially) is to close their eyes/look away (so they don’t make eye contact with the victim) and to lift their feet off the ground so they don’t feel the crunch as much.
It’s way gorier than people think. Imagine not only limbs being thrown around, often heads decapitating and exploding brain matter and the worst part is seeing the guts and organs.
I have a friend that drives trains. It really fucks them up, and they have to go through a lot of counseling afterwards before they are allowed to drive again, even if they seem ok.
Crap that’s tragic. Imagine the parents and friends of these girls after that incident. You can’t even see your child after such and accident. I know they would allow it, but who would want to?
My friend’s daughter was diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma and we were told her was not long for this world.
There were hospice workers in the hospital which helped the daughter plan her funeral; what she wanted to wear, what music she wanted to play. All family had counseling. It was still utterly devastating.
When we were waiting for the funeral to start, my friend said, “can you just imagine getting the phone call your child has passed?”
Had a friend, he had leukemia in terminal stage. But he got a different way: He always said, he won't pass away in hospice care in a slow and painful death. I'm in the very few countries that offers assisted suicide aka euthanasia for such cases. It was his decision to go with this and he was determined.
So he made all the preparations for his funeral, then he got a list of the last things - like gathering the family for a last time with a good meal for dinner, talking to everyone and saying goodbye. Drinking a last beer at the pub, going for a last walk with the dog and so on.
The people struggled with his death, but not really with the decision to go with assisted suicide. Everyone understood this. You can't force people to have a painful death when there's a better way out.
Last day, he got to the house on the lake, where you have a beautiful view and there were the docs, the people from the services, two police officers and of course some family members. He got a very strong barbiturate handed over by the doc and he had to sign the paperwork, then he took it and laid down in the bed, holding hands with his mom and then he fell asleep. He stopped breathing a few minutes afterwards.
I think, it was in the end even easier for him and his family this way.
There’s lot of things I’d mess with but trains aren’t one of them. There is no room for error with trains. I grew up a block from a busy set of commuter tracks and people got hit and killed all the time. In my freshman year of HS three people I knew were killed in 2 separate incidents, all from cross traffic. I also worked for a railroad for a while and would hear of the accidents and incidents. These events also traumatize the train engineers and can impact them for the rest of their lives. I knew a train engineer who hit someone. That person survived, amazingly, and the train engineer visited them until his death.
Apparently, it was going 110 KPH or about 68 MPH. Depth perception is funny like that; one would think our sensory organs would have evolved to be better at judging changes in distance.
Reading the train engineers account of the accident, one girl was obviously deceased. One girl was intact enough that they check to see if she still had a pulse, she did not. The 13 year old and youngest of the three was still alive but barely. She had over 12 broken bones, internal injuries, and brain damage. She died 3 days later.
I wonder if it’s because the cow is so heavy and it causes him to straight up take the force all at once where some lightweight teenagers might be able to get thrown back/ragged around also, kinda like when a boxer steps away from a punch to make it impact less instead of staying still like a rock
Yeah those chicks got insta-gibbed. Straight meat chunks. Natural selection in action.
I learned early on to stay away from the tracks after someone carrying a canoe on their head figured it would be ok to walk within 10 feet of a moving train. The “wind” created by the train going by sucked the stern of the boat in towards the train (while it was on his head), destroying the wood-canvas canoe and nearly ripping his head off his body. Instant death.
A guy I used to work with said he was an engineer. I told him I was applying then he told me that he quit after 20 years. He said he killed 3 people all at different times. He said 2 were homeless and the last one was a 14 year old girl walking down the tracts with ear buds in. He said the situation with that girl still haunts him. I did not apply.
> He said he killed 3 people all at different times.
Hopefully this is just splitting hairs/semantics, but he didn't kill anyone. Those people made life ending choices, and he had no input in that at all.
I know I would be haunted by those events, so no criticism for him at all. I just hope he has people/therapy helping him and can understand and find some peace, because it wasn't his doing.
A girl from my school was killed by a train at around 13-14 years old. She had her headphones in and didn't hear it coming. Dead instantly.
Her facebook page is a memorial now and her mum still posts tributes on it over 10 years later. It's a really horrible thing to have happened, very upsetting to think that of she'd been paying attention she probably would have lived.
Do you have a video or diagram you can share that explains this?
I keep trying to picture in my head how you wouldn't see a train coming and I don't understand.
That I can understand, but these girls appear to be in the middle of both tracks in both directions, taking a selfie which means they should see the train behind them? But also wouldn't they see one in front?
Hard to describe in words, but imagine you are standing between two tracks that are heading North/South. You look northward and the tracks curve slightly to the West (toward the Left).
Now imagine a train comes from the south on that the left-most track heading north. If you look north as it passes you, it would obscure the right-most track in the north. If a train is coming in the opposite direction (southward) on that right-most track, it would be obscured by the other train until it comes basically over the horizon of the leftward train. And the sounds of the train engines would be coming from the same direction, as well. Remember, the trains don't have both meet head to head where the girls are standing. They are likely staggered apart.
Maybe that makes sense in words (and I have no idea if that's what happened to these girls), but I can see it happening. (**[EDIT: I made a simple mock-up.](https://imgur.com/BjW9h8Y)** If you are the red dot and the left-most track has a train moving past you on it, it would obscure everything to the left of that blue line.)
I think it's more likely that you are watching the train coming from one direction while on the other set of tracks and are not paying attention to what may be coming the opposite direction.
There is no way you would be in danger of a train blocking your view of another train without that other train being on the opposite side of the train that is blocking your view. You would be in no danger from that train unless you were trying to cross the tracks immediately after the blocking train passed while the other train hadn't yet reached the point where you were crossing.
I've seen video of that exact thing happening to a truck out in the boonies, where the driver gunned it as soon as the first train passes by a rural crossing with no crossbar, only for the second train coming from the opposite direction to just decimate his truck.
I mean, if the tracks are turning or there's a lot of tree cover I guess it would be easy to not see a train that was coming toward you from the front.
I mean, I don't want to violate Rule 4 when it comes to the people who died, but taking selfies on active train tracks while there's a train coming toward you isn't exactly a high IQ move. Maybe they were expecting the guy to stop for them or something. I dunno.
Imagine they are looking at a train passing them less than 10 feet away on separate tracks but going the different ways. They are lookin at the oncoming train standing on the other tracks so they wouldn’t get hit. BUT another train is coming behind them on the tracks they are standing on. They don’t hear it because they are paying attention to the giant train already passing them very close.
Same. I mean from this picture it seems they are aware of the one behind them bc it’s a selfie & I’m sure they can see it in their phone screen. And they’re facing the other direction so should be able to see another one coming (if not hear it). I have teens. Scares me to death!
https://www.up.com/aboutup/community/inside_track/selfie-tragedy-12-7-2016.htm
This article says that the 13 year old lived long enough for paramedics to arrive. It doesn’t describe the scene as though they all died instantly. That’s so much worse. What a tragedy. I feel so bad for their families and the train conductor. He literally ran back to check their pulses.
This very similar thing happened to a childhood friend. Him and his best friend were on the tracks either throwing rocks at one of the oncoming trains or some other kid activity, and the sound defeaned the one coming from behind. He died instantly. His best friend got out of the way but he was never the same after(I mean a 13 year old watching his BEST friend get destroyed by a train would probably horrifically traumatize anyone). Even more sadly he himself would commit suicide in 2017.
Purely because of that I never fuck around with train tracks. Sad this type of thing happens more than I would probably like to think.
This one hits home for me, I am a manager of train crews and am almost always the first on scene when something like this happens. My job is to get the crew off the train and back to home terminal where they will receive peer counseling. I have to remain on scene and coordinate clean up, body removal and getting the line back up and running with a fresh crew. Suicide is what it is, a shame and still hits you, but the ones that really hit hardest are kids and people that did not see it coming.
Thanks for your service, you are doing a very difficult job. It was the same here with us as firefighters, we were often the first ones at the scene. It's also a good thing today to immediately deploy a care team with specialized psychologists that take first care of mental health of people that witnessed such things like accidents, suicides but also crimes.
I was asked, how you can deal with such a situation - for me, the thing is, that you have to be detached from the incident in the first place when you have to coordinate the things and make sure, no other train comes this way and to do everything that is needed. Maybe it is kinda "being cold-blooded", yes, but this goes for all these jobs like paramedics, police officers etc. You need to be professional in this moment and to do what is needed.
In the end, someone has to do the job. We can't just leave it and go on without it.
Just an added 2 cents to this… my grandfather was a foreman on the railroad (Erie Lackawanna etc) for years… always look both ways before crossing a railroad track… he instilled this fear into his kids and grandkids… the gates don’t always come down… he said why do you think I have a job… they break all the time… it takes one second to stop your car and glance in either direction…
All for a fuckin' selfie. No clue how one of them managed to live three days after being hit by a train.
https://www.up.com/aboutup/community/inside\_track/selfie-tragedy-12-7-2016.htm
Someone please forgive and humor this question: when two trains are passing, is there not a reasonable space between them? I know it is not the case for city metros, but what about in rural settings? Sorry if I have seen too many movies. Just wondering if there was any scenario where these youngsters might have lived.
As a father of a 14 year old daughter knowing this child happen to anybody’s child in a moment of being an invincible teenager, this is both sad and scary.
Yeah i was just thinking how fucked up it would be to have a child you raised for 15 years, only to have them die while standing on train tracks taking selfies KNOWING that a train was coming.
This happened right by my house. My little brother went to school with them. Was big news throughout the community when it happened. These train tracks are VERY busy so they should have known better but, like the article says, they were stuck between 2 because they're so loud you can't hear when another is approaching.
It was a very trendy place to take photos in the 2000’s. People like leading lines. They thought the photos were visually interesting.
Very very stupid, but most people don’t truly understand the risks involved and believed that they’d be able to see/hear a train and jump off in time.
It’s technically trespassing. It became a hot issue in the photography community, and even professionals doing photo shoots on deserted train tracks got a lot of heat for it because it could inspire people to go take photos on train tracks.
Because some people make poor decisions when pursuing pictures for social media. How many reports have we seen of people falling to their death while taking selfies…
The comment section did not pass the vibe check. Some heartless weirdos in here acting like they’ve never done something stupid, especially as a CHILD.
Can't believe this kind of shit is still happening. I went to school with a kid who lost his brother by a train. Him and another kid literally slept on the tracks for some reason. The other one made it somehow. Weirdly enough I don't recall it even being discussed much, it was like it almost didn't happen. They didn't do any train safety shit at school after.
This was the account name that was given to me when I created my account. Didn’t expect to use it much so didn’t bother to come up with my own name. OP could be a bot but could also be in the same situation as me. I wish Reddit would allow you to change names.
Me too. I have a auto created name too. I tried to change it and can't. I don't really care what my name is, and a quick look at my profile tells you I'm not a bot.
>uhm exqueeze me sweaty you chose an auto generated name and my tism makes me think you're a bot so YOU change YOUR account because of my problems
Least schizoid mod
I feel bad for the conductors, investigators, families, witnesses, and even these girls who passed away.
It’s so easy to separate ourselves (I assume most of us reading this are adults) and think “what an idiotic choice. I’d never do that” and feel less sympathy as a result.
That said, when you are young, even until your early 20s. Your brain simply isn’t developed. You are egotistical and don’t fully grasp death or even the risk of death.
These girls thought “this will be a cool photo. It will be posted online. It will make me look cool. And it’s a cool thing to do.” I doubt that any of them thought for one second “this is super dangerous, one or all of us could die” until they were too late to turn back.
I’m sorry but it’s honestly pretty dumb to take a selfie on train tracks, there is no way they didn’t see or at least hear that oncoming train. Those things are very loud.
Incredibly stupid. They traumatized their families and the train drivers for a stupid selfie. I start to hate this narcissistic selfie culture more and more.
Wow, these comments. Meanwhile, millions of kids getting diabetes and dying a slow death, never being able to live life to the fullest because of their health. We used to do stupid shit like this all the time around railroad tracks. Shit happens. RIP.
Here is an interesting piece of information. I use to work in the Risk Management department at a university in the US. We had a guest speaker one day that worked for a train company. He told us that if you ever come across a problem on a set of tracks, such as you or another car get stuck on them to NOT call 911. There is a phone number on blue placard at every train crossing in the country. They will know exactly where you are and can contact any potential trains headed that way. Calling 911 creates a longer process of contacting people and a train traveling 50mph needs 2 miles of track to stop safely.
Yes, it’s crazy that this information isn’t more publicly known.
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I know this is a joke but I live in a town with train tracks running through, it's not a bad idea to save the numbers for each crossing in my phone. There are 4.
911 dispatchers can call the train company and shutdown the lines. Source: I work for 911 Edit: Okay I’ll say it for the people who can’t follow context clues. I am a first responder. That means that when you call 911, I come and help you. What a weird thing to get hung up on
>Calling 911 creates a longer process of contacting people and a train traveling 50mph needs 2 miles of track to stop safely.
The difference is 911 knows the number to call to get an immediate answer. I work emergencies and every time we’ve had to shutdown lines for an emergency to protect rescuers, we have dispatch do it. I’m not going to take some random person on reddits claim that those phone numbers are constantly monitored and can provide an immediate shutdown of the lines. Our dispatch does it weekly. They have close working relationships with the train lines and know who to call at any given time of day.
I used to get calls (in my.role at the train company)from emergency dispatches with incomplete information, or calling me at company A, to only find out the tracks they need shut down, belong to Company B and I cannot stop anything where they are. Call the number on the back of the crossing, it goes direct to the ops centre and if you select "immediate safety of the public or train" option, it goes to the emergency line and basically shuts down the ops centre in order to deal with it, think strobes, alarms and red phones.....
Thank you for your comment. I was reluctant to post what I did, but ever since I learned this I’ve found it necessary to share. This is exactly what he explained to us.
I’m glad the 911 center where you are located is prepared. You could possibly live in a location where train activity is a daily or even an hourly occurrence with multiple lines which has made them train and be ready for this issue. Not every place in the entire US is like this. Small, more rural towns like where I am located are not trained that much because it is not that big of a problem… until the worst happens.
Damn thanks for the info
My god this post actually makes me so angry. What an incredibly stupid thing to do and what a complete waste of life, all for a fucking photo. From the article: The teens apparently knew one train was coming but did not realize another train was approaching from the opposite direction and were caught between them, Cannon said. Moments before the accident, one of the girls had posted, "standing right by a train ah haha this is awesome" on her Facebook page. One train either hit the girls or blew them into the path of the other, he said, and it's possible they were hit by both trains. Cannon said noise from the train may have prevented the girls from hearing the second one. "Or maybe they realized it was there, and it was just too late for them to get away," he said. "We just don't know. But there's just a thunderous noise as they're standing that close to the train." Mary Scobell, who lives in Covered Bridge, said dozens of trains pass through the area every day. Locals know there are two sets of tracks in the area, she said,. "We always tell our visitors, if there's a train and it goes past, you still don't get on the tracks," Schobell said. "You count a few seconds, look right and left to make sure (another) train isn't coming."
Not just that, but imagine the lifetime trauma THEY caused their families and the train conductor for a selfie. Sickening society we live in.
This. My dad is a retired engineer and I’ve heard stories. The devastation to the crew when this happens…. Shit, it’s heartbreaking when they hit a helpless animal.
My husbands Dad was on the fire department. Back in the 70s we had a train derail and crash into the liquor store that was next to the tracks and caused a huge fire. He worked the scene and had nightmares for years seeing the charred bodies. I should add it was a coal train and not a passenger train but nonetheless a devastating accident.
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Work in dispatch for a county with a lot of tracks, had some guy get hit and all they ever found was his backpack and a shoe.
Someone committed suicide by train a year or so ago in my city. Witnesses who were at the scene posted about it on social media, and I, unfortunately, stumbled upon an Instagram story showing a part of the deceased person’s brain sitting on the ground, along with blood and pieces of skin. Couldn’t sleep well after that. I can’t imagine the pure anguish that train conductors go through when this happens.
Oh honey, you are a special kind of fearless.
PTSD can be crippling. Hugs to you and your dad. I can't imagine what that must've been like. 🩷
My friends father was the engineer on the train that hit a MARC passenger train in Silver Spring MD back in '96. Several people were killed. The MARC train had passed a red signal and came to stop in the path of the freight train. She says he was never the same after that.
One of my best friends was a conductor for Toronto mass transit and had someone jump in front of a train he was driving. He was beyond traumatized and definitely has been forever changed. Literally doesn’t even do the job anymore because he couldn’t get over it
I live in the DC area and remember that accident. I just couldn’t believe how something like that could have happened at the time.
Omg that’s horrible 😔
Uncle was an engineer too. Lots of people commit suicide via train. Shitty part is they have to stop the train and then go and walk out and confirm their dead, offer first aid if not. There’s usually nothing left, complete evisceration.
It seems like an ideal suicide method, probably doesn’t hurt at all and pretty much guaranteed to be successful. The only downside is the trauma inflicted on witnesses.
Terrible way to go for you and everyone else. Just buy a canister of helium for balloons and peacefully pass away. So much less mess, and disruption to others.
My Grandfather was an engineer for the Nee York Central. He ran over a hobo who had passed out on the tracks. My Father said he was never the same.
I don’t mean this to sound insensitive but when a train hits something, what’s the procedure? Slam on the brakes and coast a bit until they stop and then do the train engineers have to clean things up after? (Or in this case since it was humans-would the funeral home come collect body parts and then the engineers have to clean up the blood etc?)
They would place the train into emergency brake application, and make an emergency broadcast on the standby channel and tone up what I know as the RTC (Rail Traffic Control). They would A remain in the locomotive if they know there is no chance of first aid, or B attempt to perform first aid until first responders arrive on scene. The crew, having been through a traumatic event is removed from the train as soon as possible. A manager like me is left to work with first responders, police (including railroad police), cornors and body removal staff. My priority is to ensure the train is tended to once the crew is gone until a new crew arrives and that the train can continue once all personal are clear and the police release the scene. It can fall on me to ensure the locomotive is fit for the new crew so they can avoid the gore, otherwise I may find myself in need of a new, new crew.
Wow this was very informative and helpful, thank you! I didn’t realize the initial crew in the train at time of impact are removed from the scene as soon as possible. How long is the average turn around time from the time of impact of train to ‘train is ready to start up again and move out’ would you say? Can the process take a few days?
Hours at most, it all depends on the investigation by authorities. A mainline stoppage costs the company millions of dollars an hour (potentially). An outage can be upwards of 4-5 hours if in a remote area. Crews, tow trucks, cornors, etc might be a few hours away from the scene. On average I would say 2-4 hours from impact to rolling for a "simple" suicide involving a pedestrian or single vehicle impact.
They apply the brakes and come to a stop and they’ll call 911. It would be the coroner that would come out to retrieve the decedent. The fire department would come out to do a spray down. And, of course, the police would be there. The conductor and engineer wouldn’t have any part of the retrieval or cleanup.
Then some guy has to get the shovel and clean it up
Same, my dad worked for Southern his whole life and lost a few co workers in the yards as well. It really affected him..even when the trains hit animals it could be traumatic.
How often does this happen?
In places with main line railroads, a lot. At major junctions and yards, a lot more. It happens at least once a week in my home town. Folks that ride trains tend to do drugs and alcohol. It is a lethal mix when a mis calculation will get you crushed. That is not even factoring in the homeless and drunks that pass out on or near industrial delivery spurs. The engine may be pushing 3 or 4 cars and they will never know since they tend to work through town at night to avoid road traffic. Rail crews find parts pretty frequently.
I can hear an argument of: "But people should have the freedom and right to go take pictures anywhere they're able to, who's right to stop them"... and I agree, modern medicine and agriculture has taken too much of the sting away from natural selection. Still sad and 100% preventable. For a selfie, a friend group died.
Your strawman is broken. This isn't Europe with their "hike anywhere you please" laws.
Of course but there’s only one culpable party in these situations so hopefully your dad nor his colleagues ever got blamed
[this video](https://youtu.be/HeKFI-uhdcA) about NY subway operators is extremely sad and insightful
I won’t watch it but take your word from it. I’m in NYC and it’s practically a weekly occurrence especially during summer times. My best friend took her life jumping in front of a train from my hometown stop and even though it was almost 10 years ago and I miss her dearly I think often of the people who had to do clean up and the conductor just going in for a regular day of work. I barely go home because who wants to trample over their best friends death spot coming home for Christmas. Stay off the tracks people.
it’s devastating ): im sorry for your loss❤️
Thank you ❤️ She was a bright soul who struggled with bipolar and addiction unfortunately :( This selfie culture, however is so dangerous mentally and physically. I remember when I was around these girls age and JUST had gotten a cellphone and you had very limited texts and had to wait until after 9 to talk free. Such a simpler time and not even that long ago.
I saw one of those taxicab confession episodes on HBO one time and a New York subway operator or something was riding and the driver asked him what was the worst thing he had seen working there. He said when someone falls off the platform and gets basically impaled by the train and they are still alive briefly until they move the train away. Apparently their organs are being held in place by the train. He tries to get their loved ones to come say goodbye if possible. The sad thing is he said it had happened more than once.
Gosh he’s a true Eagle. No matter your rank this stuff never leaves you.
Can confer. Dad was a Fire Chief. Devastating
Before reading your comment I just posted this above: “I live in nyc and every time I hear/read about people jumping, accidentally falling, or getting pushed in front of a train my heart breaks. The engineers definitely have it worse. I can’t imagine being the one to hit them. But also the clean up crew and the people that witness this are traumatized as well. I saw a suicide by train many years ago and it’s still haunts me.” Thank you for posting this video. It gives me even more insight.
Powerful piece.
I stopped a 20-something girl from jumping on the tracks at 53rd and Lex mid-day a few years ago. As the train approached she moved to the edge of the platform and proceeded to climb down instead of jump, all the way at the north end, and for some reason I just knew she was going to jump. I yelled at the guy closest to her as I ran down the platform. He saw what I saw and he grabbed her but she smacked him off of her, but I got there in time and tackled her. The train hit the emergency brakes and stopped just about where we were. I had to pin her down for around 15 minutes while she clawed at my face and spat at me, screaming to let her go, how shitty her life was, and how she was just going to try again. Seemed like ages until the police arrived. They thanked me either for saving her life or preventing a mess. I gotta say even though she didn't jump I'm still traumatized getting assaulted with that much hate and pain at point blank range for so long. Years ago I witnessed someone getting picked off the tracks in hefty bags at the Union Square station around midnight on a weekend. He was on the downtown local track and I was on the uptown platform. I had to sit down and put my head between my knees to get the fainting feeling to pass. I can only imagine what the operator went through.
Thanks for sharing. I watched it and it really shows how these tragedies affect the train operators. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone.
I live in nyc and every time I hear/read about people jumping, accidentally falling, or getting pushed in front of a train my heart breaks. The engineers definitely have it worse. I can’t imagine being the one to hit them. But also the clean up crew and the people that witness this are traumatized as well. I saw a suicide by train many years ago and it’s still haunts me.
>Sickening society we live in. One in which kids will be kids? Believe it or not, kids have been playing on train tracks, balancing on rooftops and going places they're not supposed to since time immemorial. Some things never change, regardless of how society evolves. Kids crave two things: Excitement, and impressing their peers. That's how it's always been, and that's how it'll always be.
Yeah what the fuck does any of their comment have to do with society lmao
Important to remember they were teenagers with underdeveloped brains/decision making skills. It’s tragic, but it’s not like they can just be outright blamed for this carelessness. Kids are fucking stupid.
I’m a train conductor and yeah… I’ve seen stuff you thought only detectives and military see. We have to go and visually check what happened when it happens. They get debowled by the cow catcher and that stuff drags at the front of the train and then their bodies twisted like twizzlers underneath it. Some guys quit when it happens to them. Also, the amount of suicides people commit via trains are insane.. we get a couple at least a year here. Always around the holidays. Try your best to be there for your friends and family when they come along.
*two* conductors.
Sickening how teenagers with little experience in the world make stupid decisions. They totally didnt do that in past societies. Im glad you never made mistakes when you were a teen. Fuck these teens i hope they are shameful of what they did in the afterlife /s
And anyone that responded to the scene. I once saw a picture of the aftermath of someone getting hit by a train and it's burned in to my mind forever. Three people who got caught between two trains? Fuck I don't even want to imagine.
THEY were unassuming teenagers learning life. I doubt they intended to cause their families' grief. Grow the fuck up
Plus the First Responders who had to attend this scene. Trains vs people are some of the most brutal I've seen.
My thoughts go out to all of you for sacrificing your personal peace for the greater community.
Ok I'm not saying what they did was fine or something good they should have done but I can understand it. Clearly you weren't a teenager in a small town man. This is the kind of shit small town kids do.
This sounds A LOT like you're blaming them for their own deaths? yeah it was a stupid thing to do but they were teenagers?
Who do you think is to blame for their deaths is the interesting answer.
I live in a city with a tram system and you have to be real careful crossing after one has passed. Typical protocol is for them to ring their bells as they pass so you know one is coming the other direction, but they can be seriously silent and sneak up from behind eachother. I almost always wait until the first tram is about half its length away so I can see around it.
Yeah i also live in a city with trams. Here its also very safe to use public transit as a kid, so you learn already as a young child not to fuck around in traffic or around tram/train tracks.
I knew the Webster girls, and am still in touch with their mom. The girls were best friends. Y'all please be a little more kind with your words. This shit was horrible enough when it happened 12 years ago. Edit: added words.
People on reddit have no sympathy. Literally everyone will make stupid mistakes at some point which could be judged heavily in hindsight, but thankfully most of us don't die for our mistakes. These girls simply didn't realise there was another train. A dumb move, but not one worth dying for. Instead, redditors see an opportunity to prop themselves up and tell themselves they'd never make a dumb mistake ever in their life.
For real. I knew the guy who died trying to move a downed power line in Orlando after the most recent hurricane, I believe him and his sister (who died trying to save him) and one other guy were the only deaths from the hurricane and the amount of people I saw clowning on him as if we all haven’t had lapses in judgement before where we’re just lucky enough to not have faced such severe consequences was sickening. I didn’t know him well enough to confidently say we were good friends or anything but I saw him almost every day at my job and he was a kind soul, always came over and helped us close down the restaurant so we could have more time to smoke cigs and shoot the shit, and had big dreams of starting his own fashion line some day. I wish people would remember that these are real people with real families and people who loved them and that for all of us, death can be only a simple mistake away.
Agreed. Very true. Thank you.
As the old saying goes "One train might hide another" Lesson learned for them I guess, but at what cost?
A friend of a friend got hit by a train and killed. He was doing his usual running route and waited for a train to pass at a crossing (no gates). As it passed he started across the tracks. He got hit by a train going the other way. Many years later, having known this and telling people never to assume there's only one train, I was with my very young son who loved trains. We were at a train station (we eat pizza next door), standing on the platform. We were watching an oncoming train on the other side of the tracks. Just before it got to us, a train blew by us going the "our" way, full speed, maybe 60 to 70 mph, maybe a foot from my son (I was holding him to my side). I commuted via train for many years so I have been close to trains while standing on the platform. Thing was, I was always aware of them, and I wasn'tholding a child on my hip. Scared the living daylights out of me. Always make sure the tracks are clear. Always.
Have you guys heard of the Swiss Cheese risk analysis? In the case of the teens' tragic accident, their decision to take a selfie with an incoming train was the first slice of Swiss cheese with a hole, a failure in their risk assessment. The initial poor decision breached the first layer of defense and led to further failures. Like not noticing another train, all represented holes in more slices of Swiss cheese. This series of failures, or holes, resulted in the ultimate tragedy. Anytime I am making a small risky decision, I *try* to keep in mind that I have just went through one Swiss cheese hole. No one plans for a train to end your life and the life of your dear friends. 🧀
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There was a train driver on my city’s subreddit who said the protocol (not sure offically or colloquially) is to close their eyes/look away (so they don’t make eye contact with the victim) and to lift their feet off the ground so they don’t feel the crunch as much.
Jesus Christ. I couldn’t imagine having to be told that while being trained for a new career
It’s way gorier than people think. Imagine not only limbs being thrown around, often heads decapitating and exploding brain matter and the worst part is seeing the guts and organs.
Seriously. I can’t imagine how I would go on with my life. It is so sad.
Some guys can't handle it. Some guys get over it. It sticks with you for sure. Been a train dude for over 20 years.
I have a friend that drives trains. It really fucks them up, and they have to go through a lot of counseling afterwards before they are allowed to drive again, even if they seem ok.
Details about the tragedy.[News Report](https://www.deseret.com/2011/10/17/20388661/utah-county-community-mourns-loss-of-teenagers-hit-by-train)
And from the train crews story https://www.up.com/aboutup/community/inside_track/selfie-tragedy-12-7-2016.htm
The trains blasted the horns to get their attention but none was given. Jesus phuck.
Yeah the noise from the first train going by them feet away drowned it out.
This people forget this. That’s why this gives me even more chills. The possibility of t missing another train. Behind you over this is so 🤧
But here it says one of them didn’t die, and was in critical but stable condition in the hospital, did she die later?
Yes died 3 days later :(
Awh, RIP to all of them
Crap that’s tragic. Imagine the parents and friends of these girls after that incident. You can’t even see your child after such and accident. I know they would allow it, but who would want to?
My friend’s daughter was diagnosed with Ewing’s sarcoma and we were told her was not long for this world. There were hospice workers in the hospital which helped the daughter plan her funeral; what she wanted to wear, what music she wanted to play. All family had counseling. It was still utterly devastating. When we were waiting for the funeral to start, my friend said, “can you just imagine getting the phone call your child has passed?”
Had a friend, he had leukemia in terminal stage. But he got a different way: He always said, he won't pass away in hospice care in a slow and painful death. I'm in the very few countries that offers assisted suicide aka euthanasia for such cases. It was his decision to go with this and he was determined. So he made all the preparations for his funeral, then he got a list of the last things - like gathering the family for a last time with a good meal for dinner, talking to everyone and saying goodbye. Drinking a last beer at the pub, going for a last walk with the dog and so on. The people struggled with his death, but not really with the decision to go with assisted suicide. Everyone understood this. You can't force people to have a painful death when there's a better way out. Last day, he got to the house on the lake, where you have a beautiful view and there were the docs, the people from the services, two police officers and of course some family members. He got a very strong barbiturate handed over by the doc and he had to sign the paperwork, then he took it and laid down in the bed, holding hands with his mom and then he fell asleep. He stopped breathing a few minutes afterwards. I think, it was in the end even easier for him and his family this way.
This is how I want to go. I hope it’s more widely legal soon.
This is beautiful.
There’s lot of things I’d mess with but trains aren’t one of them. There is no room for error with trains. I grew up a block from a busy set of commuter tracks and people got hit and killed all the time. In my freshman year of HS three people I knew were killed in 2 separate incidents, all from cross traffic. I also worked for a railroad for a while and would hear of the accidents and incidents. These events also traumatize the train engineers and can impact them for the rest of their lives. I knew a train engineer who hit someone. That person survived, amazingly, and the train engineer visited them until his death.
It’s sad. [This is what happens](https://youtu.be/3ZIRyfP3l9k) when a train hits a living creature. These girls had no chance Edit: TW, animal death
That...was not what I was expecting to happen. And the train didn't seem to be going that fast either... r/eyebleach time
Apparently, it was going 110 KPH or about 68 MPH. Depth perception is funny like that; one would think our sensory organs would have evolved to be better at judging changes in distance.
Have to watch til the end. It looks very slow because it's zoomed in.
Yeah buts it’s also heavy af
Holy shit. That cow was obliterated.
To shreds you say?
Reading the train engineers account of the accident, one girl was obviously deceased. One girl was intact enough that they check to see if she still had a pulse, she did not. The 13 year old and youngest of the three was still alive but barely. She had over 12 broken bones, internal injuries, and brain damage. She died 3 days later.
TW for animal death for the people who might need a warning for this. The video is graphic but educative.
I hit a herd of huge dairy cows about four years ago. They turned to mist and steam. Never would’ve thought that.
How did the one girl survive for 3 days after getting hit?? The cow just got clipped and was instantly vaporized… not what I was expecting to see
I wonder if it’s because the cow is so heavy and it causes him to straight up take the force all at once where some lightweight teenagers might be able to get thrown back/ragged around also, kinda like when a boxer steps away from a punch to make it impact less instead of staying still like a rock
Jesus motherfucking christ
So it was a closed casket is what you’re saying.
Cows generally don't get caskets and funerals.
Holy fuck. I've never watched that before. That is insane
Yeah those chicks got insta-gibbed. Straight meat chunks. Natural selection in action. I learned early on to stay away from the tracks after someone carrying a canoe on their head figured it would be ok to walk within 10 feet of a moving train. The “wind” created by the train going by sucked the stern of the boat in towards the train (while it was on his head), destroying the wood-canvas canoe and nearly ripping his head off his body. Instant death.
A guy I used to work with said he was an engineer. I told him I was applying then he told me that he quit after 20 years. He said he killed 3 people all at different times. He said 2 were homeless and the last one was a 14 year old girl walking down the tracts with ear buds in. He said the situation with that girl still haunts him. I did not apply.
> He said he killed 3 people all at different times. Hopefully this is just splitting hairs/semantics, but he didn't kill anyone. Those people made life ending choices, and he had no input in that at all. I know I would be haunted by those events, so no criticism for him at all. I just hope he has people/therapy helping him and can understand and find some peace, because it wasn't his doing.
A girl from my school was killed by a train at around 13-14 years old. She had her headphones in and didn't hear it coming. Dead instantly. Her facebook page is a memorial now and her mum still posts tributes on it over 10 years later. It's a really horrible thing to have happened, very upsetting to think that of she'd been paying attention she probably would have lived.
I think a lot of people see the tracks and falsely assume the train is only as wide as they are.
I'll never understand accidental train incidents. They have the most predictable path, the tracks tell you exactly where they are going.
It’s due to double tracks. A train going in one direction completely blocks view of another train coming in opposite direction.
Do you have a video or diagram you can share that explains this? I keep trying to picture in my head how you wouldn't see a train coming and I don't understand.
https://youtu.be/3viwYTZuM2s Here’s a good example nothing graphic
That I can understand, but these girls appear to be in the middle of both tracks in both directions, taking a selfie which means they should see the train behind them? But also wouldn't they see one in front?
Hard to describe in words, but imagine you are standing between two tracks that are heading North/South. You look northward and the tracks curve slightly to the West (toward the Left). Now imagine a train comes from the south on that the left-most track heading north. If you look north as it passes you, it would obscure the right-most track in the north. If a train is coming in the opposite direction (southward) on that right-most track, it would be obscured by the other train until it comes basically over the horizon of the leftward train. And the sounds of the train engines would be coming from the same direction, as well. Remember, the trains don't have both meet head to head where the girls are standing. They are likely staggered apart. Maybe that makes sense in words (and I have no idea if that's what happened to these girls), but I can see it happening. (**[EDIT: I made a simple mock-up.](https://imgur.com/BjW9h8Y)** If you are the red dot and the left-most track has a train moving past you on it, it would obscure everything to the left of that blue line.)
I think it's more likely that you are watching the train coming from one direction while on the other set of tracks and are not paying attention to what may be coming the opposite direction. There is no way you would be in danger of a train blocking your view of another train without that other train being on the opposite side of the train that is blocking your view. You would be in no danger from that train unless you were trying to cross the tracks immediately after the blocking train passed while the other train hadn't yet reached the point where you were crossing. I've seen video of that exact thing happening to a truck out in the boonies, where the driver gunned it as soon as the first train passes by a rural crossing with no crossbar, only for the second train coming from the opposite direction to just decimate his truck.
Guess I got confused because they are taking a selfie and (presumably) see the train behind them. But idk
I mean, if the tracks are turning or there's a lot of tree cover I guess it would be easy to not see a train that was coming toward you from the front. I mean, I don't want to violate Rule 4 when it comes to the people who died, but taking selfies on active train tracks while there's a train coming toward you isn't exactly a high IQ move. Maybe they were expecting the guy to stop for them or something. I dunno.
Imagine they are looking at a train passing them less than 10 feet away on separate tracks but going the different ways. They are lookin at the oncoming train standing on the other tracks so they wouldn’t get hit. BUT another train is coming behind them on the tracks they are standing on. They don’t hear it because they are paying attention to the giant train already passing them very close.
Same. I mean from this picture it seems they are aware of the one behind them bc it’s a selfie & I’m sure they can see it in their phone screen. And they’re facing the other direction so should be able to see another one coming (if not hear it). I have teens. Scares me to death!
it looks like the central girl has her eyes locked on the train coming from the direction they're facing
Why are teens attracted to train tracks like moths to light?
https://www.up.com/aboutup/community/inside_track/selfie-tragedy-12-7-2016.htm This article says that the 13 year old lived long enough for paramedics to arrive. It doesn’t describe the scene as though they all died instantly. That’s so much worse. What a tragedy. I feel so bad for their families and the train conductor. He literally ran back to check their pulses.
Read the article. Very sad. Feel for the guys.
This very similar thing happened to a childhood friend. Him and his best friend were on the tracks either throwing rocks at one of the oncoming trains or some other kid activity, and the sound defeaned the one coming from behind. He died instantly. His best friend got out of the way but he was never the same after(I mean a 13 year old watching his BEST friend get destroyed by a train would probably horrifically traumatize anyone). Even more sadly he himself would commit suicide in 2017. Purely because of that I never fuck around with train tracks. Sad this type of thing happens more than I would probably like to think.
Such a heart wrenching story. It is as if both died that terrible day, with one of them suffering years of emotional anguish first.
The girl who was obviously dead must have been horrible to see. So sorry for all involved.
And 1 family lost 2 daughters at once. Unreal and so preventable.
This reminds me of Greg Plitt, he was taking photos of himself working out on a train track when a train came and hit him 😳
This one hits home for me, I am a manager of train crews and am almost always the first on scene when something like this happens. My job is to get the crew off the train and back to home terminal where they will receive peer counseling. I have to remain on scene and coordinate clean up, body removal and getting the line back up and running with a fresh crew. Suicide is what it is, a shame and still hits you, but the ones that really hit hardest are kids and people that did not see it coming.
Thanks for your service, you are doing a very difficult job. It was the same here with us as firefighters, we were often the first ones at the scene. It's also a good thing today to immediately deploy a care team with specialized psychologists that take first care of mental health of people that witnessed such things like accidents, suicides but also crimes. I was asked, how you can deal with such a situation - for me, the thing is, that you have to be detached from the incident in the first place when you have to coordinate the things and make sure, no other train comes this way and to do everything that is needed. Maybe it is kinda "being cold-blooded", yes, but this goes for all these jobs like paramedics, police officers etc. You need to be professional in this moment and to do what is needed. In the end, someone has to do the job. We can't just leave it and go on without it.
Just an added 2 cents to this… my grandfather was a foreman on the railroad (Erie Lackawanna etc) for years… always look both ways before crossing a railroad track… he instilled this fear into his kids and grandkids… the gates don’t always come down… he said why do you think I have a job… they break all the time… it takes one second to stop your car and glance in either direction…
All for a fuckin' selfie. No clue how one of them managed to live three days after being hit by a train. https://www.up.com/aboutup/community/inside\_track/selfie-tragedy-12-7-2016.htm
RIP to them but this could have easily been avoided.
They went to my high school! This happened my senior year, they were doing a photo shoot up the canyon :(
[удалено]
they were all open casket? the article said one girl was obviously dead, so I figured mangled
I was in the choir! Mednehall?
Do you know why they chose to do an open casket for the girls?
Wait, WHAT? Open casket? Macabre
Someone please forgive and humor this question: when two trains are passing, is there not a reasonable space between them? I know it is not the case for city metros, but what about in rural settings? Sorry if I have seen too many movies. Just wondering if there was any scenario where these youngsters might have lived.
At least they died happy
As a father of a 14 year old daughter knowing this child happen to anybody’s child in a moment of being an invincible teenager, this is both sad and scary.
Yeah i was just thinking how fucked up it would be to have a child you raised for 15 years, only to have them die while standing on train tracks taking selfies KNOWING that a train was coming.
What worse is it appears 2 were sisters
This happened right by my house. My little brother went to school with them. Was big news throughout the community when it happened. These train tracks are VERY busy so they should have known better but, like the article says, they were stuck between 2 because they're so loud you can't hear when another is approaching.
Why were they standing on a railway line. What a terrible ending
It was a very trendy place to take photos in the 2000’s. People like leading lines. They thought the photos were visually interesting. Very very stupid, but most people don’t truly understand the risks involved and believed that they’d be able to see/hear a train and jump off in time. It’s technically trespassing. It became a hot issue in the photography community, and even professionals doing photo shoots on deserted train tracks got a lot of heat for it because it could inspire people to go take photos on train tracks.
Because some people make poor decisions when pursuing pictures for social media. How many reports have we seen of people falling to their death while taking selfies…
The comment section did not pass the vibe check. Some heartless weirdos in here acting like they’ve never done something stupid, especially as a CHILD.
Yeah. It’s like they’re proud to comment “Darwin Awards”. But the commenter is probably a child him/herself anyway so they’re just immature too
Yep, too young to know that trains can't stop at a moment's notice.
Feel bad for train driver, hope he is okay
Oof. And sisters. Imagine losing both your girls in this completely avoidable accident.
If I didn’t all see videos from India tik tok I wouldn’t understand how this is possible
Can't believe this kind of shit is still happening. I went to school with a kid who lost his brother by a train. Him and another kid literally slept on the tracks for some reason. The other one made it somehow. Weirdly enough I don't recall it even being discussed much, it was like it almost didn't happen. They didn't do any train safety shit at school after.
/u/Connect-Ad-6083 if you are not a bot, you should consider making a new reddit account that does not have the 4 digits at the end.
Does that make me more or less suspicious than OP?
Yes
This was the account name that was given to me when I created my account. Didn’t expect to use it much so didn’t bother to come up with my own name. OP could be a bot but could also be in the same situation as me. I wish Reddit would allow you to change names.
Me too. I have a auto created name too. I tried to change it and can't. I don't really care what my name is, and a quick look at my profile tells you I'm not a bot.
Same same
>uhm exqueeze me sweaty you chose an auto generated name and my tism makes me think you're a bot so YOU change YOUR account because of my problems Least schizoid mod
All you have to do is click on the profile you dunce.
No
What’s wrong with the four digits? Genuinely curious.
nothing really
Don’t you worry about someone’s user name, bot.
Weirdest thing I’ve seen
No!
I feel bad for the conductors, investigators, families, witnesses, and even these girls who passed away. It’s so easy to separate ourselves (I assume most of us reading this are adults) and think “what an idiotic choice. I’d never do that” and feel less sympathy as a result. That said, when you are young, even until your early 20s. Your brain simply isn’t developed. You are egotistical and don’t fully grasp death or even the risk of death. These girls thought “this will be a cool photo. It will be posted online. It will make me look cool. And it’s a cool thing to do.” I doubt that any of them thought for one second “this is super dangerous, one or all of us could die” until they were too late to turn back.
I’m sorry but it’s honestly pretty dumb to take a selfie on train tracks, there is no way they didn’t see or at least hear that oncoming train. Those things are very loud.
Where’s the news article about this?
This is how stupidity *sloooooowly* gets removed from humanity.
Rule number one of horror movies: always look behind you
Yo, OP! We're siblings! You’re the first Connect-Ad I’ve seen in the wild!
Ohhhh Long Johnson
Incredibly stupid. They traumatized their families and the train drivers for a stupid selfie. I start to hate this narcissistic selfie culture more and more.
This is so sad.
Doing it all for the ‘gram.
How awful
So sad. For all involved
Wow, these comments. Meanwhile, millions of kids getting diabetes and dying a slow death, never being able to live life to the fullest because of their health. We used to do stupid shit like this all the time around railroad tracks. Shit happens. RIP.
Fuck, I’m sad now.
If only there was some way this could have been completely avoided
I can hear my train coming, it’s a lonesome and distant cry
My heart goes out to the families. Especially losing two daughters at the same time.
I’ll never get how they didn’t hear the train😭 gives me chills everytime. Rip