GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — The contract worker killed in a maintenance-of-way accident earlier this month on state-owned tracks operated by the Housatonic Railroad has been identified as Rodolfo G. Rocha, 51, of Los Fresnos, Texas, the Berkshire Eagle newspaper reports.
Survivors include a wife and son.
Rocha was hit by track equipment while working in a remote area between Great Barrington and Sheffield on Aug. 4 and died after being airlifted to a Springfield, Mass., hospital . The accident led the Massachusetts Department of Transportation to stop work pending a review of safety practices of contractor Middlesex Corp. [see “Massachusetts DOT halts rail project …,” Trains News Wire, Aug. 8, 2023]. The work was part of a $7.3 million contract for track rehabilitation including the installation of 8.1 miles of welded rail, the Eagle reports.
The accident remains under investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board, Federal Railroad Administration, and local authorities.
Condolences to his family. One fatality is one too many.
Ed Burns
Retired Class 1
Victim of fatal accident at Massachusetts track project identified. Fixed it.