A Norfolk Southern conductor had his lower right leg and lower right arm amputated when run over by a railcar at the company’s Lambert’s Point Yard, the National Transportation Safety Board said in the preliminary report on a July 19 accident in Norfolk, Va.
The incident occurred about 12:35 p.m. The conductor was part of a crew preparing to release a loaded car at a gravity-fed switching facility when another car unexpected began to roll in his direction. He was assigned to a crew of six switching utility employees and one crew foreman, which had been split into three two-person crews, each tasked with releasing the brakes and uncoupling loaded coal hoppers to allow them to roll down a westward-descending grade for unloading. The employee’s two-person crew had released five cars from Track 13 at the Barney Yard section of the yard without incident and was working to release the sixth car when the uncoupled seventh car began to roll, striking the conductor, who was transported to a local hospital for treatment.
The ongoing investigation will focus on NS yard operating rules and procedures, surveillance vidceo, and accident reenactment findings.
