COUPLE
CONTINUES RAILROAD CROSSING BATTLE
The Towpath
Saturday, October 20, 2001
By: Brigette Barnes -- Towpath Writer
More than six years
after a tragic accident claimed their son at a local railroad
crossing, Dennis and Vicky Moore continue to fight for safer
crossings in Ohio.
The Canal Fulton
couple started the Angels on Track Foundation in 1997 after
the Ohio Supreme Court awarded the Moores $8 million in punitive
damages in a lawsuit over their son's death.
Their son, Ryan,
16, was killed March 25, 1995. The car Ryan, his brother,
and four friends were in was hit on Deerfield Avenue Northwest
by a Conrail freight train estimated to be traveling approximately
60mph. Three survived, but three, including Ryan, were killed
in the collision.
"We put all
of it (the money) into the foundation," Vicky Moore
said. "There was nothing we could buy that would bring
us happiness because that money represented my son's death."
Vicky said she and
her husband realized during the court proceedings why their
son had died.
"There is not
enough attention given to railroad grade crossings," she
said. "We are trying to get people to see the other
side of the story -- not all railroad grade crossing accidents
are caused by driver error. That's not to say that drivers
don't make mistakes. But they usually make mistakes because
they don't have enough information at the crossing or they
don't have gates and lights to protect them. To blame the
driver for all accidents is misinformation and not true."
Vicky explained
that Deerfield Avenue, located on the Stark-Wayne border
had been the location of seven collisions resulting in eight
deaths since 1975.
At the time, the
Ohio Public Utilities Commission had labeled Deerfield Avenue
as the most dangerous crossing according to its priority
list.
While the state
of Ohio, county and local highway authorities had prior knowledge
of previous deaths and injuries, this crossing was marked
with only an informational railroad crossing sign. There
were no advance active warning devices, such as gates and
lights, to warn a motorist of an oncoming train.
In the course of
their trial, Vicky said she discovered the lack of concern
for dangerous rail/highway grade crossings by the railroad
industry and local highway authorities.
"It only becomes
a "priority"
after someone is killed or injured," she said. "The
railroads own the black boxes in the front of the engine and
they are the only ones with the equipment to retrieve the tapes.
In our case and many others, those tapes mysteriously disappeared."
So the Moores decided
to find a way to change the procedure, red tape and bureaucracy
involved in funding these dangerous railroad and highway
grade crossings with adequate active warning devices to save
lives and correct the problem, they believe, caused the death
of their son.
The Angels on Track
Foundation awards reimbursement grants to local highway authorities
for railroad grade crossing safety upgrades representing
up to 30 percent of the public share under the state funded
program, not to exceed $40,000 for each upgrade project.
A requirement for
possible grant funding is the establishment of an active,
functioning, county railroad safety task force to identify
and locally prioritize all grade crossings for safety, and
to be proactive in identifying and applying solutions to
these problem crossings utilizing funds from all available
sources.
Since its inception,
the foundation has approved six crossings, paid for five
and have five or six applications pending. They funded three
upgrades in Wayne County for a total of $61,569; one crossing
in Delaware County for $40,000; and Forty Corner Road in
Stark County for $23,083.
The foundation also
has approved a reimbursement grant for the Fohl-Wooster Road
crossing in Navarre.
"We want to
save lives,"
said Vicky. "We do not feel the current education programs
are giving the complete information or complete story. Crossing
conditions, sight obstructions, lack of protection devices,
malfunctioning safety equipment, railroads not following safety
procedures -- these are all contributing factors to railroad
grade crossing accidents, not just driver error."
The
foundation also produced a railroad safety film last year
titled "Without
Warning." It is available from the foundation for a
$5 shipping charge.
"There's a
lot of things that need to be changed in Ohio and across
the country," Vicky said. "Only 20 percent of crossings
have gates and lights in the U.S."
Anyone wanting to
contribute to The Angels on Track Foundation can send a check
or money order to: The Angels on Track Foundation, 122376
Chestnut Street, N.W., Canal Fulton, Ohio 44614. Donations
of $25 or more will be sent an angel pin as a thank-you for
the support.
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