COUPLE
HIT AT TRAIN CROSSING SUE RAILROAD
(As reported in Chicago Sun-Times)
By Dan Rozek
Suburban Reporter
February 8, 2001
Radio
messages show a railroad dispatcher mistakenly told a train
crew on Jan. 9 that malfunctioning gates at a DuPage County
rail crossing had been repaired, attorneys suing the Canadian
National/ Illinois Central RR said Wednesday.
But
the gates still were broken, and the mistake caused an 89-car
freight train to strike a Ford Explorer at the Army Trail
Road crossing minutes later, critically injuring two Addison
residents, the Cook County lawsuit alleges.
Attorneys
representing the injured Addison couple released audiotapes
Wednesday of radio conversations between the train crew
and a dispatcher to bolster their claims that the railroad
was negligent.
"[The
dispatcher] told the conductor and engineer that Army Trail
Road had been repaired, that the gates and the lights were
working. We know that's not correct," said Chicago
attorney Timothy Cavanagh, who represents Fidel and Francisca
Velarde. "There was a miscommunication that caused
the collision."
The
Velardes, both 72, suffered severe head injuries in the
noon crash near Bloomingdale. Their adult daughter Lilia
Apulello, who was driving the sport-utility vehicle, suffered
minor injuries, although the impact dragged and rolled the
Explorer about 150 yards.
The
railroad had issued an order earlier on Jan. 9 requiring
train crews to stop as they approached the Army Trail Road
crossing to ensure that gates and warning lights there were
working. Railroad officials said earlier that the gates
had been malfunctioning, probably because of electrical
problems caused by road salt and melting snow at the crossing.
In
one radio message less than a half hour before the crash,
a crewman on the freight train asked the dispatcher if the
"stop and protect" order was still in effect at
the Army Trail Road crossing.
"Any
change on our stop and protect at 29.7?" a train crewman
asked, using the railroad shorthand for the crossing.
"Yeah,
it's been repaired," the dispatcher answered.
"Been
repaired. All right," the crewman replied.
But
Cavanagh cited other radio messages earlier in the day from
a signal repairman that it was actually two other suburban
crossings on the same rail line--not Army Trail Road--that
had been repaired.
An
attorney for the railroad declined to comment on the lawsuit
or radio messages. Railroad spokesman Jack Burke also wouldn't
comment on the allegations, but he insisted that the railroad
operates safely.
"Whatever
happened out there is an isolated incident," Burke
said, adding that in terms of derailments and other accidents,
CN/IC is the "safest railroad in North America."
Fidel
Velarde is expected to undergo surgery within the next two
weeks to relieve swelling in his brain, family members and
attorneys said.
"He's
in extreme pain," said his son Jerry Velarde, also
of Addison.
Francisca
Velarde, who was riding in the passenger seat, continues
to suffer from severe headaches, family members said.
On
the day of the crash, Jerry Velarde planned to meet his
parents and sister for lunch. He waited at the restaurant
for about 45 minutes, then left, figuring they had changed
their plans.
"I
thought they went shopping or something," he said,
adding that he passed near the rail crossing just after
the crash without realizing his family members had been
injured.
"We're
a very close-knit family. It's been painful to see our parents
and sister go through this."
EXCERPTS
OF RADIO MESSAGES
An
Addison couple critically hurt when their vehicle was struck
by a train Jan. 9 is suing the Canadian National/ Illinois
Central RR. They contend the train crew was erroneously
told that broken gates at the Army Trail Road crossing--known
as crossing 29.7--had been repaired.
Here
are excerpts of radio messages between the dispatcher and
train crew:
Train
crewman: "IC 1006 West, ready to depart here at
25.3. Any change on our stop and protect at 29.7?"
Dispatcher:
"Yeah, it's been repaired."
Crewman:
"Been repaired. All right."
In
a conversation less than an hour later, the train crew reports
striking a vehicle at the Army Trail Road crossing.
Crewman:
"Yeah, we hit an automobile at 29.7."
Dispatcher:
"OK, you hit an auto. OK. You gonna need an ambulance?"
Crewman:
"Yeah."
Dispatcher:
"Do you know if the crossing protection was working?
John, do you know if the crossing protection was working?"
Crewman:
"I could not tell."
