14 July 2009
Engineer, Conductor Die in Early Morning Bettendorf Train Crash
Bettendorf Iowa USA - Two men were killed Tuesday
when a Dakota, Minnesota & Eastern Railroad freight train ran into a group of stationary cars, railroad and federal officials said
Tuesday.
About a dozen cars, including two locomotives, derailed at 29th and State streets, Bettendorf, at 2:10 a.m., authorities said.
The train had 83 cars in all, railroad officials said.
Andrew Reed, 27, of Savanna, Ill., the conductor of the train, was killed, along with the engineer, railroad officials said. They
declined to identify the engineer, though, saying they were honoring the wishes of his family. The railroad said he was based in
Savanna, too. Bettendorf officials also did not release the name pending final identification by the Scott County medical examiner.
The conductor and engineer were the only crew on board.
The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the accident, and in an advisory, the agency said the train "struck a
group of cars in a rail yard after crossing through a switch that was not lined for the main line."
"It was switched to the siding, but it was not switched back. Therefore, there was a collision," said Keith Holloway, an
NTSB spokesman. "Now why that happened, we don't know yet."
Holloway said a siding is a sort of holding area for rail cars.
Fire and rescue crews were busy all day working at the scene, as emergency response vehicles filled a large lot at Hampton Cranes at
29th and State streets.
A large blue tarp covered a locomotive for part of the day, while men scrambled on top.
In the late morning, heavy equipment was deployed to move parts of the derailed train.
"The obvious question is why the train impacted the stationary cars on the siding," said Mike LoVecchio, senior manager for
media relations at DM&E.
At an afternoon news conference, other company officials declined to get into details, saying they are focusing on the needs of the
family and friends of the men who were killed.
"The DM&E and the men and women who make up our company want to express our sincere and heartfelt sorrow to the families and
friends for their loss," said an emotional Ed Terbell, executive vice president for operations of the railroad. "Our crew
and their families are in our thoughts and prayers."
Terbell said Reed had worked for the railroad since August 2004.
Company officials declined to say how long the engineer had been employed.
Savanna Mayor Larry Stebbins said Tuesday he didn't know the victims personally but that an accident like this cuts deep in what was a
thriving railroad town until 20-25 years ago.
It still has many second and third-generation railroad employees residing there, he said.
"Just looking down the street toward (Reed's) house, there are a lot of cars parked there," Stebbins said.
Reed was a 2000 graduate of Savanna High School and attended Hamilton Technical School in Davenport and Highland Community College in
Freeport, Ill. Reed, who was known by his friends as "Reed-o" and "Sweet-Meat," enjoyed
playing sports and boating on the Mississippi River, according to his obituary. He is survived by his fiancee, Jamie Diercks, their
daughter, Brynn, and her daughter, Delaney Holmes of Savanna. His mother is Ramona Coffey of Argyle, Wis., and his father, Richard
"Dick" Reed of Moline.
Funeral services for Reed are scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Saturday at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Savanna.
The accident occurred in a mostly industrial area of Bettendorf. Railroad crossings at 31st, 33rd, and 35th streets were closed after
the accident, but they were reopened Tuesday afternoon.
A woman who lives in a house next door to the crash site said she didn't hear anything, but her husband noticed a rumbling about
2 a.m. He initially thought it might be a storm, she said.
Later, they walked to the back of the house and saw one car on top of another. "It smelled funny," said Barbara Voigt,
comparing the odor to an insecticide. She said she was told it was a mixture of diesel and corn.
Terbell said there was a small diesel spill, which was contained, but that most of the cars were empty. None contained hazardous
materials, he said.
Holloway said it can take between 12 and 18 months for an investigation to be completed.
The last fatal train accident in Iowa was a derailment by Amtrak's California Zephyr on 17 Mar 2001, near Nodaway, Iowa,
according to the NTSB Web site. One person was killed.
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