KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Amtrak and BNSF Railway have settled a lawsuit with survivors of the truck driver whose dump truck was struck by the Southwest Chief in June 2022, derailing the train and killing the driver and three passengers.
WDAF-TV reports Erin Barton, widow of driver Billy Dean Barton II, and the couple’s five children will receive an unspecified amount as a result of the settlement.
The Barton family had filed suit in Charlton County, Mo., Circuit Court the day before Amtrak and BNSF sued MS Contracting, Billy Barton’s employer, in federal court [see “Amtrak and BNSF, widow of truck driver file suits …,” Trains News Wire, July 1, 2022].
The Chief was traveling at 87 mph when it struck the dump truck and derailed in the June 27, 2022 derailment in Mendon, Mo., killing Barton and three passengers on the train, and sending 146 passengers and crew members to hospitals for treatment. The NTSB determined that the nature of the crossing, protected only by crossbucks and a stop sign, was a factor in the accident because it made it difficult for a driver to see an approaching train [see “Design of crossing contributed …,” News Wire, Aug. 2, 2023].
If one of my relatives was killed in the wreck I would now sue the family of the driver. Their settlement will have to be disclosed in court.
That should be, “The Barton family had filed suit in Chariton County, Mo., Circuit Court…”, not Charlton County.
Given the circumstances, Amtrak and BNSF would have had a hard time winning the Barton case in the local court so I can see why they settled. Not mentioned in this article is the status of their lawsuit against MS Contracting in Federal Court and the status of Erin Barton’s lawsuit against the county.
“”The probable cause in the June 27, 2022, accident was that the driver of the dump truck “proceeded for unknown reasons into the highway-railroad grade crossing without stopping despite the presence of a stop sign and approaching train.””
Was changed to this….
“The NTSB determined that the nature of the crossing, protected only by crossbucks and a stop sign, was a factor in the accident because it made it difficult for a driver to see an approaching train”
I thought that is why they put a stop sign up, so the truck could stop and LOOK each way.
Once upon a time, the meaning of a crossbuck sign was that a railroad was crossing the roadway and a train could appear at any time and had the right of way. Motorists can proceed only if they determine a train is not coming. If the corn is too high or the sight distance is otherwise reduced, they might have to stop and look. Then the Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices was changed to permit the addition of a stop or yield sign. My opinion is the yield sign is repetitious of the message of the crossbuck: yield to trains.
In men’s college basketball, there is an arc under the basket where a defender cannot draw a charge foul when there is contact. There should be a zone at a grade crossing where any contact is automatically the fault of the motorist or pedestrian. I believe they stripe such zones on the U-Bahn grade crossings in Germany.
Michael Pochop, P.E. (Mo.)