Ohio Teenage Motorist Killed at Dangerous, Unguarded CSX Crossing
(Dunkirk, Ohio – May 2, 2017)
A 16-year-old Dola, OH motorist was tragically killed Tuesday afternoon at about 3:50 P.M., EDT. The motorist was driving west on Hardin County Road 60 (Locker Road) between Dunkirk and Kenton, OH when his vehicle was struck by a southbound CSX freight train. The collision occurred at the dangerous and unguarded intersection of CR 60 and CSX railroad tracks which carry a daily average of 11 CSX freight trains at a maximum speed of 50 mph.
Layton Rogers, the motorist, was pronounced dead at the scene by Hardin County Coroner Larry Kuk. The victim’s vehicle was a total loss, crushed virtually beyond recognition.
The Lima News described the rural crossing by saying “There are no crossbars or lights at this crossing. There is a yield sign posted on the railroad (cross-buck) sign.”
Even though the teen driver’s tragic death was the second accident and fatality to occur at the road/rail intersection, the crossing lacks any form of active warning devices, such as lights and gates, which most certainly would have prevented the boy’s untimely fatality.
It is virtually certain that if this crossing was protected by active warning devices, this collision would not have occurred. CSX and Operation Lifesaver know that lights and gates are the most effective type of protection at railroad crossings. Studies that have been conducted over fifty years ago confirm that lights and gates offer the ability to drastically reduce the number of vehicle/train accidents by as much as 96%.
