Sun’s Glare Contributes to Motorist vs. Maintenance Equipment Wreck at Non-gated Rail Crossing
(Seymour, Indiana – August 15, 2012)
The overwhelming glare of the rising sun coupled with the absence of railroad crossing gates early Wednesday morning at about 7:30 A.M. when an eastbound motorist failed to see both a ballast regulator parked on the grade crossing of Bruce Street and Louisville & Indiana Railroad tracks inn Seymour, IN, as well as the flashing lights above the crossing.
Kevin Maschino, 55, of Seymour suffered extensive cuts to his face, requiring stitches, when his windshield broke as he drove right into the piece of track-mounted maintenance of way equipment used to smooth and even out the rock ballast used to hold the railroad track firmly in place. The operator of the ballast regulator, 33-year-old Daniel Becker of Connersville, IN, and an employee of railroad maintenance contractor All Track, Inc. of Pendleton, IN, had left his machine on the grade crossing in order to throw a track switch and allow the machine to move from the L&IRR siding to its main line.
The collision with the ballast regulator smashed the auto’s door frame and buckled the windshield. The victim was taken to Schneck Medical Center, just a few blocks away, for treatment of his injuries.
Seymour Police Dept. Cpl. Tim Toborg said no citations were issued in regard to the accident.
The Louisville & Indiana RR is one of several properties operated by the Anacostia & Pacific transportation consulting firm.
