Motorcyclist is Seriously Injured in Accident with a Train in Norfolk

I recently wrote about the considerable number of accidents between motorists and trains on grade crossings and the dangers of these crossings. Usually cars or trucks are involved in accidents with trains but I was saddened this morning to read about how a motorcyclist received life-threatening injuries in an accident involving a train on Granby Street in Norfolk.

The TV station WVEC.com reported on how a motorcyclist was seriously injured following a crash with a train around 1:45 a.m. in the 7700 block of Granby Street near Wards Corner. Medics say the rider was taken to local hospital with life-threatening injuries. Police said later he is expected to survive.

The train blocked several intersections of the roads at Ward’s Corner while police investigated the crash, but has since been moved.

Few details are available about this accident including the railroad involved or whether a crossing malfunctioned. What we do know is that more accidents occur on railroad crossings than we might think, as I explain in this video after an Amtrak train derailed in North Carolina.

Every year there are more than 2,000 grade crossing accidents in the United States and dozens of fatalities. There were 3,085 accidents across the country that killed 371 people in 2004. Those figures fell to 2,096 accidents that killed 288 people in 2013, reported the New York Times.

On occasions these accidents can be very serious. In 2012, for example, a tractor-trailer hit an Amtrak train at a rail crossing east of Reno in Nevada, causing a fiery wreck that killed six and injured dozens.

Although the trucking company was later sued over the actions of the driver, railroad workers said the crossing was dangerous and remained so a year after the crash, a Reno Gazette-Journal investigation found. The Gazette-Journal noted how another truck almost hit an Amtrak train the next year but managed to slide to a stop.

Earlier this year a Metro North train derailed on a grade crossing in New York after a train hit an SUV on the tracks causing a fire in the train that killed five. The other fatality was the driver of the SUV. More than 15 people were injured, state officials said.

Although these accidents have made headlines, every week there are accidents at grade crossings across America that leave drivers injured. If the safety features of a crossing fail or if there are design problems or overgrown vegetation at the crossing, people who are injured or the families of those who lose their lives, may have grounds to file a lawsuit against the rail road. This may also be the case when a train operator fails to sound a warning. If you need more information about accidents on railroad crossings or have been injured, call Cooper Hurley Injury Lawyers at 757.455.0077.