NTSB faults parade plans in fatal train collision

WASHINGTON — An oncoming freight train sounded its warning, and track guard gates started to descend. But the crowd was cheering, a marching band was playing, the lights of a police escort were flashing and a truck driver towing a parade float of wounded veterans and their wives in Midland, Texas, advanced heedlessly into the crossing.

The train rammed the float at 62 mph, killing four veterans and injuring 11 other veterans and their wives.

The National Transportation Safety Board on Tuesday faulted parade organizers and city officials for their lack of safety planning, not the truck driver towing the float.

"This terrible collision between a fast-moving freight train and a slow-rolling parade float of veterans and their loved ones should never have occurred," said NTSB Chairman Deborah Hersman at a board meeting to conclude a yearlong investigation of the accident. "Parade and event organizers must identify and manage hazards in advance to ensure a safe outcome for participants and spectators."

Citing other fatal accidents at parades and special events in Bangor, Maine; Edmond, Okla.; and Damascus, Va., the five-member board also made a series of safety recommendations to cities and counties regarding the need for permits and safety plans.

The parade had been an annual event in Midland, a transportation and commerce hub in the West Texas oilfields, for nine years. A local charity had invited the veterans for a three-day weekend of hunting and shopping in appreciation of their service, including a parade timed to fall near Veterans Day.

Led by three police vehicles and a marching band, two floats with veterans and their spouses were en route to a banquet in their honor on Nov. 15, 2012 when the collision occurred. One float had just cleared the highway grade crossing, and a second flatbed truck was edging across the tracks when it was struck by a Union Pacific train. Several veterans and their wives managed to jump from the float before the collision.

NTSB investigators described to the board how safety precautions for the annual parade had melted away over the years.

After the first few years that the parade was held the route was changed from one that didn't cross Union Pacific's tracks to a route that did cross the tracks. For several years after the route change, parade organizers would alert the railroad to their plans and police were stationed at the highway grade crossing. But even those precautions were dropped by last year.

In the early years of the parade, organizers also obtained parade permits from the city. But last year, no permit was obtained in violation of city regulations, investigators said. Even if a permit had been issued, city regulations didn't require parade organizers to submit a safety plan, they said.

"It seems things got lax in the planning," highway safety investigator Gary Van Etten told the board. "There was no (safety) plan."

Midland officials, responding to the board's findings, said in a statement that while they've already implemented significant changes in the city's process for handling special events, they said they also realize there is more work to be done.

"The review and upcoming one-year anniversary of the accident bring back many painful emotions and memories, and our hearts continue to go out to the families who relive the accident every single day," the city's statement said. "Our hope is that those who have followed our story are still listening so that these recommendations can also help them hold safe, successful events in the future."

The railroad crossing warning system was activated the required 20 seconds before the accident, and the guardrail began to come down seven seconds after that, but the truck's driver was unaware of the danger because circumstances of the parade had created an "expectation" of safety, investigators said.

Police were stationed at intersections along the parade route and the truck driver had been allowed to proceed for 34 minutes through a series of red lights before the accident, investigators said. By the time the driver arrived at the grade crossing, he had reason to assume he could proceed through a red light there as well, they said.

"I think he was led down the primrose path, he was invited across these railroad tracks," said NTSB board member Robert Sumwalt.

The truck driver didn't recognize the warning bells that sounded as the train approached because of noise from the crowd, the marching band and motorcycles in the parade, investigators said.

The driver told investigators that he did not see the flashing lights of the grade-crossing warning system or detect the presence of the train until the float was on the tracks because he was looking at his side-view mirror to make sure float passengers weren't being jostled as he negotiated a dip in the roadway on approach to the grade crossing.

The train's engineer sounded the locomotive's horn and pulled the emergency brake seconds before the collision, but was unable to stop in time. The first truck towing a float, which was in front of the truck that was struck, was fitted with a train horn that had been sounding throughout the parade, yet another reason why the driver of the truck that was struck didn't register the danger until it was too late, investigators said.

Show of Support, the group that organized last year's parade, is holding a banquet this year, not a parade, Midland spokeswoman Sara Higgins said.

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Source: Merced Sun Star (Lowy, 11/05)

Arrest made in fatal seven-vehicle crash on I-35E

DALLAS - Two people were killed and one arrested when a pair of drag racers lost control on a Dallas highway triggering a seven-car pile-up shortly before morning rush hour, according to investigators.

"There are witnesses that say two of the vehicles involved were racing," said Carmen Castro, Dallas County Sheriff's Office.

The chain-reaction crash injured three others on a busy stretch of Interstate 35E shortly after 5 a.m. Tuesday south of downtown Dallas. Witnesses reported seeing a green Dodge Charger racing with a blue Chevrolet shortly before the impact.

A red Cadillac sedan burst into flames after colliding with an 18-wheeler, killing two people inside, who have not been identified. Deputies said it appears they were not involved in the racing.

The southbound lanes of Interstate 35E at Illinois Avenue were closed temporarily as authorities investigated the deadly crash.

The Dallas County Sheriff's Department said one person, who was not identified, was arrested for criminal negligence homicide. Authorities said they are also looking into whether alcohol played a role in the crash.

"It's horrible to look at," said Ross Benton, who was passing by and stopped to observe the wreckage. "Endangering other people's lives, it's just disgusting."

Traffic could be seen backed up throughout the morning as part of the interstate was shut down. Some drivers could be seen crossing through grass and going the wrong direction on at least one highway service road in an attempt to get out of the traffic.

The interstate was re-opened around 9:30 a.m.

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Source: WFAA (8/21)

A Tragic Accident and a Continuing Legal Battle

Michelle Gaines was the most popular girl at Palestine High School. The athletic, dark-haired 19-year-old was preparing to head off to Hill College on a soccer scholarship.

Her plans ended on June 11, 2006, when an 18-wheeler hauling an oil rig careened through a red light and crashed into her 2000 Buick.

“It’s as if my daughter died that day,” Mike Gaines said, “but God gave me back another one that I love and cherish just as much as the first one.”

The truck smashed the sedan into a mangled crescent and left Gaines with a broken pelvis and punctured lung. And, most devastating, a portion of her brain was sheared off. She was in a coma for about six months, and then she was in and out of hospitals and rehabilitation centers for another eight months.

Now, at the age of 26, Gaines has the mental maturity of a 12-year-old, no short-term memory and no peripheral vision. The former prom queen’s group of friends is long gone.

“I try to hire girls around her age to take her out to eat, maybe go do the girl thing, go shopping or something,” Gaines said. “I just try to make life as easy on her as I can.”

In 2010, a jury awarded Gaines more than $8 million in damages. The truck’s driver, its owner and another businessman involved with the oil rig were held liable, and the jury agreed with Gaines’ lawyers, who argued that after the accident there was an effort to cover up the businessman’s involvement with bribes and by destroying evidence.

But the state’s 12th Court of Appeals overturned the verdict last year, ruling there was not enough proof that the businessman, Joseph Pritchett, was liable in the accident. Mike Gaines and his daughter’s lawyers say that her future now rests with the Texas Supreme Court, which previously declined to hear the case. They say that if the court does not reconsider, it could set a precedent that allows defendants to avoid responsibility for their actions by destroying evidence and bribing witnesses.

“It has long been the story of humans that when they get caught doing a bad act, they lie about it and hide what they’ve done,” said Scott Clearman, a lawyer for Michelle Gaines.

Rob Roby, a lawyer for Pritchett, says that his client had no role in the accident. He vehemently disagrees with Gaines’ lawyers’ implication of a cover-up.

“This case never should have been submitted to a jury,” Roby said.

Scott Smith, a criminal defense lawyer in Austin who is not involved in the case, said he was appalled that the original verdict was overturned and that the Texas Supreme Court declined to hear Gaines’ appeal. He said it sets a double standard for criminal cases and civil cases.

The evidence implicating Pritchett, Smith said, is tantamount to circumstantial evidence that is routinely used to prosecute criminal cases.

“How do you have respect for a legal system that allows that kind of inconsistency and illogic?” Smith said.

But Olin Guy Wellborn, a professor at the University of Texas School of Law, said the appellate court’s decision was reasonable. Gaines’ lawyers, he said, failed to show that the destroyed evidence would have proved that the men each had equal control over transportation of the rig.

On the day of the accident, Kenneth Woodworth was driving the 18-wheeler to Corpus Christi, transporting a rig owned by Benny Joe Adkinson. Woodworth was headed to an equipment yard owned by Pritchett, where Adkinson planned to blueprint the rig’s parts so he could replicate them.
After the accident, Gaines’ lawyers sued all three men, claiming that Woodworth and Adkinson were negligent because Woodworth had no license and the trailer’s brakes were defective. Pritchett, they said, was also liable because he and Adkinson were engaged in a “joint enterprise” to profit from the rig.

Woodworth and Adkinson pleaded guilty to aggravated assault with a deadly weapon and received probation. Neither appealed the civil court’s decision that they were liable. But neither of the men has the money to pay the judgment, Gaines’ lawyers say. Pritchett, they argue, does.

Without money from Pritchett, Clearman said, taxpayers will have to pay for Gaines’ care. She can walk and talk, but her memory loss and impaired vision make it unlikely that she will ever be able to live independently.

Gaines tries to help improve his daughter’s memory with little exercises, like taking notes about TV programs she watches. But the messes she often makes because of her forgetfulness and limited sight upset and depress her. When she learned that the jury had awarded her $8 million that would pay for her rehabilitation, Mike Gaines said, she was ecstatic.

“I haven’t even told her that this happened,” he said. “I just know it’s going to shatter her.”

Pritchett’s lawyers acknowledge that the accident was tragic and that their client did business with Adkinson. But they say he had no control over how the rig was transported.

“There is a complete lack of evidence that Pritchett had an equal right to control or any control at all over the handling and/ or transporting of the trailer/rig in question,” his lawyers wrote in court documents.

The jury decided otherwise after hearing evidence that Pritchett paid Adkinson a total of about $96,000 after the accident. Gaines’ lawyers alleged in court that the payments were bribes to keep Adkinson from implicating Pritchett as having any involvement, an allegation that Pritchett and Adkinson deny.

Jurors also heard testimony that Adkinson burned his business records after the lawsuit was filed and that he and Pritchett had previously worked together to refurbish and sell oil field equipment.

Gaines’ lawyers told jurors that after they had arranged to inspect the rig at Pritchett’s yard, Adkinson hauled it away and cut it up for scrap. After it was destroyed, they said, bank records showed Pritchett paid Adkinson $60,000.
Pritchett said the money was a loan. Adkinson said it was payment for equipment.

Pritchett’s lawyers argued in court documents that he had had no part in Adkinson’s decisions to burn his records or to scrap the rig; Adkinson, they said, was responsible for the rig and the accident.

Adkinson, 81, said he pleaded guilty to criminal charges and did not appeal the verdict because he did not have money to fight the case. But he insists that he was not guilty and that Pritchett was not involved.

“They’re just trying to ruin Mr. Pritchett’s life,” he said.

When Pritchett appealed the $8 million verdict, the 12th Court of Appeals decided that Gaines’ lawyers had not proved that he was in a “joint enterprise” or that he had any responsibility for the accident.

Judge Brian Hoyle wrote in the court’s opinion that “none of the evidence shows that Pritchett had an equal right to control the alleged enterprise.”

The request for the Supreme Court to reconsider taking up the case is probably the last chance for the Gaineses to restore the $8 million judgment.

Until that decision comes — which could be soon, or could take weeks or months — Mike Gaines said he would continue working to get his daughter the best care he can afford.

“All I can do is just keep on fighting,” he said, “like I have been since Day 1.”

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Source: The Texas Tribune ( Grissom, 7/29)

Only Underwater Traffic Tunnel in Texas Closes for Repairs Two Years After Accident

The big state of Texas has all kinds of stuff when it comes to infrastructure but there’s one thing you won’t find in abundance, and that’s underwater traffic tunnels. There’s only one in the entire state, the Washburn Tunnel east of downtown Houston.

The toll-free tunnel goes under the Houston Ship Channel, connecting the communities of Galena Park and Pasadena (the refinery town made famous in the 1980 movie “Urban Cowboy”.) Officials say during the week it carries up to 27,000 vehicles a day.

Built in 1950 at a cost of $7 million, the Washburn Tunnel is just under 3800 feet long, taking drivers 68 feet below the ship channel. Atop the tunnel’s entrance there’s a large midcentury structure containing high-speed blower fans that provide ventilation. Because of its unique trench design, the Washburn Tunnel was included on the National Register of Historic Places in 2008.

Also in 2008, all large vehicles were banned from the tunnel including 18-wheelers. But in September 2010, that didn’t stop a big rig driver from trying to enter. Gail Miller is with Harris County Precinct 2, the governmental entity that operates the tunnel, and she tells what happened next.

“We had an 18-wheeler, about 3:30 in the morning, drive by the guard shack. The guard was out, the flags were out, he drove right around then and headed into the tunnel. Well, he’s too big to get into the tunnel, and he hit the north portal wall, damaging the brick and the metal behind it.”

Once inside the tunnel, Miller says the truck collapsed and it took about seven hours to remove the wreckage. The driver wound up going to jail. Now two years later, crews are at work repairing the damage.

Miller says at the time of the accident, the damage wasn’t considered severe enough to close the tunnel to traffic. As for why it’s taken so long to do the repairs, Miller says they had to settle insurance claims, and because of the tunnel’s historic status, they had to find the proper materials to make the repairs to the tunnel’s entrance.

“Any changes to a historic building have to be run by the Texas Historical Commission, and they have to be matched in terms of brickwork.”

The tunnel will be closed to traffic on weekends through April 2 to make those repairs. So what does that mean for drivers? Traffic will be funneled onto several other ship channel crossings, including the East I-610 Loop, the Sam Houston Parkway toll bridge and the State Highway 146 Fred Hartman Bridge (which replaced another tunnel, the Baytown Tunnel, in 1995). Drivers also have the option of using the Lynchburg Ferry, which will have expanded hours during the Washburn Tunnel’s closure.

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source: Transportation Nation (Delaughter, 3/20)



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1 Dead, 2 Injured in Wreck South of Alamo

ALAMO - One man is dead, and two others injured after a wreck south of Alamo.

When CHANNEL 5 NEWS arrived at the scene, Alamo police units were also just getting to the scene. One of the vehicles knocked down a power line and there was smoke and fire on one side of the street.

A Texas Department of Public Safety trooper say a grey Suburban and 18-wheeler were driving in opposite directions and collided. They say the two men in the Suburban were brothers. One of them, 25-year-old Santos Hernandez Sauceda, died in the accident; the other was injured.

"We know for sure that the actual fatality was not wearing a seatbelt. He was ejected from the vehicle," says trooper Maria Alaniz.

The person inside the 18-wheeler was trapped inside the vehicle. Troopers say he was stuck underneath the dashboard and the truck was touching live power lines. Rescuers, including state troopers, EMS personnel and the power company, all worked to get the trapped person out of the truck.

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source: www.krgv.com (Zepelin, 9/14)