St. Louis Dispatch Takes on Railroad Industry and Regulators for Pedestrian Deaths
(St. Louis, Missouri – December 9, 10, 11, 2012)
Battling railroad regulatory agency ambiguity, the rail industry’s apathetic attitude toward pedestrian tragedies from coast to coast, and taking an extensive look into the similarities of types and locations for deaths suffered on or near railroad tracks. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch produced a three-part series entitled “Death on the Rails”, the three features and numerous related articles ran Sunday through Tuesday of this week.
Authored by award-winning Post-Dispatch writer Todd C. Frankel, work on the series began in June, 2012, shortly after a pedestrian tragedy in the St. Louis suburb of Kirkwood, MO. Frankel conducted over 90 interviews with victims’ families, railroad regulators, railroad officials and employees, public officials and police officers, and reviewed thousands of pages of court documents, agency filings and railroad industry publications in producing the investigatory news report.
Frankel was assisted by David Carson, a noted photojournalist, who has likewise been the recipient of numerous awards for his past work.
The link to the Pulitzer-potential series is www.stltoday.com/rails
