Two teenagers injured at unguarded North Dakota railroad crossing
Two teenagers near Des Lacs, ND were thrown out of their car when it collided with an eastbound train on Sunday. The Burlington Northern Santa Fe freight train hit the car’s front end, sending the vehicle into a nearby ditch. The teenagers had to be rescued from the vehicle, and sent to a hospital in Minot to be treated for their injuries.
No cause for the accident is currently being listed, but it is known that the accident occurred at an unguarded crossing – a railroad crossing with no protective gate and no warning lights, but only a yield sign to warn passengers of the tracks. Police are not releasing further details about the incident at this time.
With roughly two-thirds of all railroad crossings having no active warning devices at all, it probably should not come as a surprise that this particular crossing currently is not outfitted with any protective technologies. Yet it remains startling that in spite of such a rapid occurrence of these tragedies at unguarded railroad crossings, the railroad companies are not being forced to do anything about it. More public outcry is needed if our railroad crossings are to become safe.
