Missouri Accident Lawyer Blog

Three people were killed Wednesday morning in a Missouri railroad crossing accident in Trenton when the car they were riding in was hit by a freight train.

The three people killed in this accident were Nancy Groves, 24, Adam Romesburg, 30, and Nina Spencer, 28. All three were riding together in a 2001 Plymouth Neon that attempted to cross the railroad tracks on First Street.

According to reports filed by the Missouri State Highway Patrol and local media, the car was crossing the tracks at an uncontrolled crossing, which means there is no automatic arm or lights to warn motorists. They crossed into the path of the train which engaged its brakes, but was unable to stop before hitting the car. The train finally came to a stop a couple thousand feet down the tracks.

This news comes on the heels of another fatal Missouri train crossing accident last week. In both cases, the crossings did not have automatic arms to block motorists from the tracks when a train approaches.

In the wake of the Trenton crash, many residents are sending condolences, but some are expressing concern that the crossing was a known danger due to the fact that there are no lights to warn motorists and snowfall could obstruct the signs and tracks themselves.

Transportation officials and locomotive companies have as much a responsibility for preventing accidents as the drivers themselves. Accidents should be investigated by authorities and Missouri railroad crossing accident lawyers to see if they were caused by driver negligence or an existing dangerous situation at the crossing itself.

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Posted In: Choosing a Personal Injury Lawyer , Missouri Car Accidents , Missouri Personal Injury Lawyer News , Missouri Train Accidents , Personal Injury News , Wrongful Death Lawsuits

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A fatal Missouri railroad accident has claimed the life of Kristy Willis, 33, and seriously injured injured her daughter, Kelsey Turner, 8.

The crash occurred at 3:35 p.m. Friday afternoon on Greenbriar Drive near Highway 60 in Seymour, Missouri. According to local media reports and the Missouri State Highway Patrol, Willis was driving a pickup truck with three children, including Turner, as passengers. The truck attempted to cross the railroad tracks when a train, initially unseen by Willis, slammed into the side of the vehicle.

Willis was killed by the crash. Turner, who was riding up front in the truck, was seriously injured and taken by helicopter to St. John's Hospital. The two other passengers, Tiffany Bowden, 15, and Carl Bowden, 16, were riding in the truck's bed and were able to leap to safety moments before the crash.

Witnesses say that Willis had gone to pick up the children from the bus stop. There are also witness reports that say the train failed to blow a whistle or sound any sort of warning horn as it approached the crossing.

While drivers need to exercise extreme caution when approaching a railroad crossing, the burden of safety does not fall squarely on their shoulders. The tracks and crossing should be be free of obstructions so drivers can clearly see if it is safe to cross. Not every crossing has automatic warning bells, so conductors should also sound the onboard horn to warn motorists. This appears to be something that didn't occur in the Seymour crash. If any negligence on the part of the locomotive company is suspected, the incident should be investigated by a Missouri train accident attorney to help ensure that similar accidents don't take place in the future.

Posted by Ryan Bradley | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Missouri Car Accidents , Missouri Personal Injury Lawyer News , Missouri Train Accidents , Personal Injury News

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Heather Sheree Balven, 31, was killed Thursday morning after driving a pickup truck in front of an Amtrak train in Hartford, Illinois.

According to a St. Louis Post Dispatch report, Balven was driving east on 7th street when her truck was hit by the train. The crash occurred around 7:23 a.m.

Investigators pronounced Balven dead at the scene. None of the train's passengers or crew were injured, according to the Post Dispatch.

Toxicological tests for alcohol and drugs in Balven's system have been submitted to authorities, but no results have been released. Information from the train's on-board monitoring system will also be examined.

The train had left St. Louis and was on its way to Chicago.

According to the Post Dispatch, the crossing where the injury occurred does not have a gate, warning lights or bells. It only has an x-shaped warning sign. That particular stretch of track is owned by Kansas City Southern.

This is the third Amtrak incident in the last few months. Fortunately, the last couple incidents did not result in any fatalities. 15 people died in vehicle-train crashes in 2008, according the Post Dispatch.

If any train accident investigation determines that negligence on the part of one of the parties led to a serious injury, a personal injury attorney will be called to try and win damages for the injured.

Posted by Ryan Bradley | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Missouri Train Accidents , Personal Injury News

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An Amtrak train crashed into a garbage truck on Thursday becoming the second accident in just over a month involving an Amtrak train hitting another vehicle.

According to local media reports, the train had left St. Louis and was heading north toward Chicago. The train hit the garbage truck at a railroad crossing near Carlinville, Illinois. The crossing was equipped with warning lights and bells, according to the St. Louis Post Dispatch.

Several passengers and an Amtrak employee were taken to local hospitals for treatment and then released. The garbage truck driver, working for Waste Management Inc., was also taken to an Illinois hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

An investigation into the accident is ongoing. Authorities do not know why the garbage truck was in the path of the train and witnesses claim that the warning lights were working, according to the Post Dispatch report.

This accident is very similar to the one we reported on last month in which ten people were injured in an Amtrak train crash. None of the injuries in that accident were serious, but if accidents like these continue to occur, it’s only a matter of time before someone is seriously hurt or killed. Sometimes personal injury lawyers with train accident experience are called in to investigate and find that the intersection warning lights are not functioning or the intersection is not safe in some other way. These kinds of errors, if they exist, need to be pointed out and corrected.

For your own safety, don’t ever try to beat a train at a crossing. If you are involved in an accident either in a car or while riding on the train itself, you should take notes on the incident that may be able to help any authorities called in to investigate. You should also contact a personal injury lawyer as soon as possible.

Posted by Ryan Bradley | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Missouri Train Accidents

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Photo from STLToday.com

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An Amtrak train bound for St. Louis crashed into a tractor-trailer truck that had gotten stuck on the tracks near Brighton, Illinois on Monday morning.

Ten people, including the train’s engineer, were injured in the Illinois train wreck and taken to local hospitals. All of the injuries were considered relatively minor, though four people were unable to walk from the train under their own power immediately after the accident, according to a St. Louis Post Dispatch report.

The train hit the truck’s trailer that was blocking the crossing. The truck driver, Dustin Kroeschel, 24, was able to jump to safety before the crash.

Several of the train’s cars left the track, but thankfully none of them overturned or were terribly mangled.

Fortunately nobody was seriously injured or killed, but this incident should be investigated by local authorities, the trucking company, and an experienced Illinois train accident lawyer in order to prevent similar, and potentially more disastrous, accidents in the future,

Posted by Ryan Bradley | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Missouri Train Accidents , Missouri Trucking Accidents , Personal Injury News

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Photo from Fox 2 News

Missouri truck driver David Willoughby, 70, was killed Wednesday night when his truck became stuck at a railroad crossing on Route N in Pacific.

According to the highway patrol, Willoughby’s truck lost traction in some loose gravel and was blocking the railway. Willoughby exited the vehicle to inspect the situation when a train crashed into the tractor-trailer.

The Highway Patrol indicates that Willoughby suffered an unknown medical condition in the moments before the crash. It is unknown at this time exactly what medical condition he suffered and if this affected his ability to safely escape the crash. The basis for this conclusion will need to be thoroughly investigated as the conclusion will affect legal liability in this case.

The road that Willoughby’s truck became stalled on is under construction and being repaved, according to the St. Louis Post Dispatch. Local drivers were cited as saying the road is nearly impassable and has no signs or barrels to warn motorists of the dangers. Piles of loose gravel are stacked near the railroad crossing.

If the conditions of the roadway were unsafe, the people in charge with the road's maintenance and even perhaps the rail company could be found liable for damages. A full investigation will need to be conducted by the highway patrol and an experienced personal injury attorney to determine these legal issues.

We will post more details about this incident as they emerge.

In cases like this, it is important that a personal injury lawyer is contacted as soon as possible. Many elements of personal injury law are time sensitive and crucial evidence may be lost if not collected immediately.

The Bradley Law Firm has handled personal injury cases for over 30 years. If you have question about your legal rights, contact us for a free consultation. We handle railroad crossing accident cases as well as many other types of lawsuits. There is no obligation for consulting with our law firm and you will never receive a legal fee from us. We are only compensated if we are successful on your case.

Posted by Ryan Bradley | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Missouri Train Accidents , Missouri Trucking Accidents

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Authorities say fog contributed to cause an early morning Illinois train crash in Worden, Illinois, a city near Edwardsville, Illinois, at approximately 8:20am. Bill Dittmar, a Worden County, Illinois fire fighter was quoted as saying "It's really foggy here" and that "I'm sure that contributed to the crash."

However, it is speculated the crossing arms and lights at the rail road crossing were not working. The operator of the truck that was hit by the train was taken to the Community Regional Hospital in Staunton, Illinois. No details regarding the extent of his injuries were released.

In this case, if it is determined the crossing guard did not function, there could be a lawsuit against the railroad whose responsibility it was to maintain the guard. More investigation would need to be conducted to determine liability, if any, on behalf of the railroad.

At the Bradley Law Firm, we handle train accident cases and provide free legal consultations on any personal injury case. Moreover, we have a team of seasoned investigators who are on call to investigate any accident at any time. These services cost our clients nothing in the event there is no claim to be made or it is determined there is no negligence on behalf of a party. In the event negligence is substantiated, the costs of the investigation are reimbursed from any recovery we may obtain for the client. Please visit our website at www.stllawhelp.com for more information regarding our services.

Posted by Ryan Bradley | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Missouri Train Accidents

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Mike Green, a truck driver from South Dakota was seriously injured in a train wreck in Lincoln County Missouri today. Mr. Green's flat bed tractor trailer was on the train tracks around the intersection of Highway N and 79 in Winfield, Missouri and was hit around 1:15pm. The train tracks are owned by Burlington Northern railroad. The train is owned by BNSF Railway. According to the Missouri Highway Patrol, after the train struck the large truck, it pushed the truck a quarter of a mile. Mr. Green was ejected from his truck and was thrown a long distance.

Mr. Green was transported to St. John's Mercy Hospital in Creve Coeur and was listed as suffering from serious personal injuries. Neither the operator of the train or the train company have released statements.

It will be interesting to find out exactly how this train accident occurred. Many train accident lawsuits filed by plaintiff's lawyers are premised upon faulty crossing guards and obscured intersections between train tracks and roadways. Once a final investigation is released, we will post the contents here.

Posted by Ryan Bradley | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Missouri Train Accidents

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