Man is Killed in Crash with Amtrak Train on Charles City Crossing

Grade crossings where vehicles may come into contact with trains are the most dangerous places on the railroad network. Deadly accidents have occurred on dozens of railroad crossings in rural Virginia, most recently in Charles City.

Earlier this month, first responders with the Charles City County Sheriff’s Office attended a deadly accident involving a vehicle and an Amtrak passenger train on the tracks near the Roxbury Road and Barnetts Road intersection.

The occupant of a car died in a collision with an Amtrak train on Sept. 7, according to media reports.

Virginia State Police said a 2006 Lexus ES350 was traveling north on Roxbury Road when the driver came to a crossing with its gates and signals engaged. According to police reports, a 76-year-old driver veered around the gates and struck an Amtrak train. He died at the scene.

Passengers on the train reported that the train came to a screeching halt. Fortunately, nobody on the train suffered injuries. The passengers were struck on the train for hours.

The Dangers of Grade Crossings

As railroad injury lawyers we continue to see far too many accidents on grade crossings. Some prove to be tragic for both drivers and train passengers. 

Six people died in 2015 when a Metro-North train crashed into a Mercedes SUV on a grade crossing in Valhalla, New York. The impact caused the train to derail, claiming the lives of five occupants. The other fatality was the SUV driver.

Although drivers are at fault for many crashes, others raise questions about the design of grade crossings. Many crossings with no barriers or lights still exist in Virginia and across the country.

Fatal Railroad Accidents in New Kent County

The Virginia Department of Transportation recently installed two new signs at a dangerous grade crossing in New Kent County after two fatal accidents.

The crossing on Rockahock Road lacks gates and lights. The signs are yellow and read “no gates or lights.”

In June 2021, a man from Mechanicsville near Richmond was killed on the dangerous Virginia crossing when he picked up his kids from a vacation bible camp.

The 45-year-old was driving a Chevrolet Suburban south on Outpost Road. He was parked partially across the train tracks, controlled by a stop sign, when the car was struck by a passenger train headed west. The child suffered non-life-threatening injuries from the glancing blow from the train.

NBC 12 reported at least eight collisions between trains and cars on grade crossings in Virginia in the first six months of 2021  alone. The two fatal incidents occurred at the New Kent train crossing at Rockahock Road and Outpost Road.

Contact Our Firm for Railroad Crossing Accidents

Deadly and inadequate crossings are found in rural Virginia as well as many other parts of the United States. Our railroad injury lawyers have also helped the families of victims of crashes on inadequate urban and rural crossings. A railroad may be liable for its failure to maintain a crossing or an inherently unsafe crossing. Please call us today.