Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Personal Injury Law Blogs -> Jacksonville Personal Injury Lawyer

Personal Injury Law

: Jacksonville Personal Injury Lawyer

CSX Train Lawsuit Follows Teen Death On Trestle

By Eddie Farah

CSX Train Lawsuit Follows Teen Death On Trestle

byEddie Farah

A 17-year old Clay County High School football player, Wesley Whiddon Jr., who was struck and killed by a train lastmonth, was doing what many people in the Black Creek area regularly do -- fish from the railroad bridge.

Whiddon was killed May 14, when he could not escape the CSX train that rounded a corner traveling about 35 to 40 mph. His two friends managed to jump off the trestle that is suspended over Black Creek.

Now his mother is suingCSX, and its senior road foreman of engines for her son's wrongful death.

The lawsuit says that the railroad did not have the area properly closed or fenced off or adequate warning signs about the dangers of walking near the trestle. Local news, Channel 4, reports that four trespassing signs are posted at either end of the trestle.

The lawsuit also claims that the train was going at an excessive speed and that Whiddon didn't have enough time to get away before being struck. But the conductor says he was not traveling at an excessive speed andhe thought the boys would jump off the tracks as people usually do. When that didn't happen, he says he applied the emergency brake.

Since 1990, about 5,000 people have been killed by walking along railroad tracks and at crossings, according to the nonprofit group, Operation Lifesaver.

These unfortunate accidents remind us that train tracks are not the place for pedestrians, ATVs or cars. And trestles are never wide enough for both you and the entire width of the train, nor is a train tunnel.

This unfortunate young man and his family are suffering a loss which serves as a reminder to us all - Thatrailroad tracks are for trains.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Eddie Farah

Full post as published by Jacksonville Personal Injury Lawyer on June 13, 2008 (boomark / email).