A stuffed toy and a note reading "Rest in Peace" remain at the accident scene that claimed the lives of two children in Lakeshore - 10 Jun 2012 Jason Kryk.

13 June 2012

Train Crossing Near Misses Common:  CPR Engineer

Lakeshore Ontario - Brushes with death are part of the job for train operators, according to a 33-year veteran of the profession.
 
"What we call "near misses" happen quite regularly, with people racing to get through crossings or get around gates," said Tom Sonier, an engineer with Canadian Pacific Railway and a union representative for crew members. "It's going to be by in a minute, if it's a mile long. But maybe they're used to being stopped somewhere else and don't want to wait."
 
On Sunday, Andrew Williams was driving the family minivan on Strong Road in Lakeshore with his four children when the vehicle was involved in a collision with a CPR freight train just before 10 a.m. Two of his daughters, six-year-old Wynter Williams, and three-year-old Brooklyn Williams, were killed.
 
Andrew and his four-year-old son Dryden Williams remain in hospital in medically induced comas in critical condition. The youngest child, one-year-old Jasmyn Williams, was released from hospital Monday after suffering minor injuries.
 
Ontario Provincial Police continue to investigate what caused Andrew to drive into the path of the train. Sonier confirmed what CPR officials said Monday, the two-member crew had no chance of avoiding the collision, despite sounding the train's horn and applying the emergency brake.
 
"Knowing the way it happened, the train would not have been able to stop," Sonier said. "It's too late. You're too close to the crossing, they're too close to the crossing."
 
Sonier said he hears about two or three near misses every month on CPR crossings in Ontario southwest of Toronto. Most are caused by drivers who see the train, but speed through the crossing because they don't want to wait for it to pass by, he said.
 
The railway crossing where the collision occurred does not have flashing lights or barriers. It is marked by crossbucks, or "Xes," and signs warning drivers to stop and look for trains.
 
Windsor police spokesman Brett Corey said drivers don't have a legal obligation to stop at such crossings, unless they are operating a bus or some other public transit vehicle.
 
Sonier said fatalities are devastating for crew members. He said the engineer operating the train involved in Sunday's collision has young grandchildren and the conductor has young children around the same age as the ones who were killed.
 
Many people don't realize conductors are the first on the scene in such incidents, Sonier said. He said the conductor on Sunday received praise for keeping a cool head as he rushed to the van with a first aid kit and called 911.
 
"The one on Sunday was very tough," he said. "Very hard to take."
 
Sonier said the union is pushing for more time off for crew members involved in such incidents. Currently, they're entitled to three days off and counselling, with the option to apply for a longer leave through the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board.
 
"Two or three days doesn't seem to be a whole lot of time to get over something as tragic as what happened on Sunday," he said.
 
Claire Brownell.