CSX Kills 13-Year-Old Michigan Girl On Bike; Claims Non-Existent Gates “Working”
(New Boston, Michigan – April 15, 2011)
A 13-year-old junior high school eighth grader riding her bicycle to a friend’s house after school, was struck and killed as she crossed in front of a CSX train in this Huron Township community Friday afternoon. The accident, which resulted in the death of Renton Junior High School eighth grader Shyan Frye, occurred at the West Road railroad crossing with CSX/Conrail.
Huron Township Police officers told news media that “The train was approaching, but it was as if she never saw, heard or felt it coming. Maybe she was distracted.” Both police and train crew members made statements to several news media that “the lights and bars (crossing gates) were working”. The West Road (near Inkster Road) railroad crossing is not equipped with gates. Media outlets were flooded with comments, many of whom were friends or acquaintances of the victim, challenging the claims that the crossing was equipped with gates. Later news reports “corrected” the error.
This reporting “error” is consistent with railroad attempts to saturate the media with false reports which blame the victim.
