Distracted driver hit by TRAX train
A 29-year old man was reportedly looking the other way when his sedan slammed into a TRAX crossing gate arm just as a train came into the crossing at 45 miles per hour.
At 9:20 a.m. on Jan. 3, he approached the three-way signalized intersection at about 8600 South 3200 West and made a right-hand turn east. But the crossing arm gates were down, and had been for 26 seconds prior to the crash, according to equipment records.
“The investigation showed all the devices were working properly, arms and lights, and it was driver error,” Sgt. Drew Sanders said. “He was looking the other way and somehow missed all the train arms and everything and drove right through it.”
Seventy-five to 100 feet down the tracks, the train operator saw the car coming and initiated the emergency breaking - not in enough time to stop the train, but enough to slow it down to 40 to 45 mils per hour at impact.
The car veered off the crossing equipment and came to a stop in the railroad corridor.
The man was transported to Jordan Valley Hospital in serious but stable condition with a broken collarbone.
“He’s a lucky man and we’re glad he isn’t any worse,” Sanders said.
Per policy, the train driver was placed on administrative leave and subjected to a drug and alcohol test. The Utah Transit Authority also provides counseling services to all operators involved in incidents.
This is the same crossing where teenager Shariah Casper was fatally struck by a train last June 8th.
“At this point, we will be doing a full safety review of that crossing,” said Gerry Carpenter, Utah Transit Authority representative. “This is, of course, an automobile. Different circumstance, and we’ll be reviewing it from that perspective.”
If there are improvements or changes that can be made to the crossing, they will be made, Carpenter said.
This is the first TRAX accident of the year. Last year, there were 13 accidents and five fatalities involving TRAX trains.
“We do have a concern about distracted drivers and pedestrians in particular,” Carpenter said. “Many of these incidents share the common feature that the individual who was involved was distracted or impaired - essentially not paying attention.”
In some cases, pedestrians were wearing headphones, didn’t look and stepped into the path of the train. In other cases, alcohol or other drugs were involved.
A similar incident occurred last November in Midvale where a minivan crashed at 7500 South into a TRAX gate and into the side of a train, because the driver was impaired and didn’t pay attention because of his impairment level.
“That doesn’t appear to be the case in this instance,” Carpenter said. “Whether he didn’t see them or was distracted, he disregarded the gates that were down and the lights that were flashing and the bells ringing, and he drove through the gates onto the path of the oncoming train.”
Ultimately, Carpenter said the message is, with trains traveling every 15 minutes in each direction all day seven days a week, you should always expect a train from either direction at any time.
