Iowa Husband, Father of Three Dies at Dangerous, Unguarded Union Pacific Crossing
(Boone, Iowa – June 30, 2012)
A 25-year-old married father of three young children was killed Saturday morning when his 1999 Dodge Durango was crushed by an eastbound Union Pacific container train at the dangerous, unguarded crossing of Key Lane and UPRR tracks just west of Boone, IA.
Clyde A. (Andy) Joseph of Boone, IA was declared dead at the scene after the collision with the container “stack” train. The crossing lacks any form of automatic protective signals such as flashing lights, bells or crossing gates, and is equipped solely with standard, passive railroad crossbuck signs. The crossing was described by Boone County Sheriff Ron Fehr that “it can be difficult to spot eastbound trains as they approach the crossing” due to a “blind spot” just east of the Des Moines River and the Kate Shelley Bridge.
Although no speed for the train was reported, most stack trains travel at 70 mph in that rail corridor, which accommodates 56 trains on the double track daily.
