THE GOOD
FIGHT- CARROLL COUPLE HOPE TO MAKE RAILROAD CROSSING A LOT
SAFER
The Times
Reporter
February 13, 2006
By: NANCY SCHAAR, T-R Staff Correspondent
MECHANICSTOWN - Ryan Moore was only 16 years
old when he died March 25, 1995, at a railroad crossing on
Deerfield Ave. near the Wayne and Stark County border.
He and five other teenagers were in a car that
was hit by a train. According to the teens who survived, the
crossing wasn't marked. There were no crossing gates, lights
or signals. Trees, brush and foliage blocked visibility. The
teens said they listened, and the driver inched forward in
an attempt to see if it was safe to cross, but they never saw
the train that hit the car.
According to the railroad's official report,
the train was traveling about 60 mph. Crossbucks were the only
warning of the crossing.
Moore's parents, Denny and Vicky Moore of Mechanicstown,
said five of the six teenagers were thrown from the car by
the impact.
Three - Moore; Joshua White, 17; and Alyson
Ley, 16 - were killed instantly.
Three others - Jason Moore, 18; Rebecca White,
16; and Jennifer Helms, 15 - were sitting in the front seat
and were critically injured.
Vicky Moore remembers that beautiful, spring
afternoon.
"The smell, I remember the smell. It smelled
like it had just rained - that fresh, spring smell. Every time
I smell that, it takes me back to that day," she said.
Vicky and Denny Moore said they weren't interested
in litigation against the railroad, but they were pulled into
civil action. The railroad was found to be at fault, and the
Ohio Supreme Court refused to hear the railroad's appeal.
The Moore family was awarded $5.4 million after
attorney's fees. The White family was awarded $1 million in
punitive damages. The Ley and Helms families settled out of
court.
The Moores said every cent of their award went
into an account to create Angels on Track, a non-profit organization
formed in 1997 to identify the most dangerous railroad crossings
in Ohio and to assist in the installation of safety devices.
Angels on Track works with counties to set
up task forces, but the projects can be difficult because of
state, highway department and railroad procedures.
The Moores have been to more than 20 counties
so far to set up task forces, but only about five still are
active. Once a task force has been established, members set
up a database, take photos of crossings to show the obstructions
and prioritize the crossings in a given county. Task force
members determine which crossings are the most dangerous and
what is needed to correct them.
If a task force is established in a county,
Angels on Track will match local highway authority funds up
to $40,000 to correct problems.
The task force applies to the state, and the
process continues through the Public Utilities Commission.
About 90 percent of the safety devices' cost is paid through
local highway authorities, and railroads make a 10 percent
voluntary contribution toward the cost. Taxpayers foot most
of the bill to provide railroad crossing safety devices.
So far, Angels on Track have helped to install
14 sets of gates at a cost of about $400,000.
Angels on Track also provide public service
announcements, billboards and have established an educational
subsidiary, Crossing to Safety.
The Moores recently were asked to testify before
the U.S. House of Representatives Transportation and Infrastructure
Committee, Railroad Sub-Committee.
"The rules need to change," Vicky
Moore said. "The laws need to change. There are no federal
laws pertaining to sight distance clearance for public safety.
The railroads are responsible for clearing vegetation from
their right of way, 600 feet in both directions on every public
road in the state of Ohio. They're just words on paper because
it's not enforced, and it's not done, and lives are lost almost
every day. Every year, an average of 300 people are killed
at railroad crossings in the United States. That's almost one
every day of every year. Something has to be done."
Vicky Moore said only 25 percent of railroad
crossings in the country are gated, and there is no uniformity
in crossing protection or federal regulations.
The Moores recently hand-delivered information
about the problem to all Ohio legislators. Only three out of
about 100 have responded.
"Ryan's accident didn't have to happen," Vicky
Moore said. "It could have been prevented with crossing
gates. ... We're just not taking no for an answer. We're doing
this for Ryan. This was our son."
Denny and Vicky Moore recently were interviewed
by a film crew from NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams about
their work. Producer Patrice Fletcher set up the interview
and filming. The air date is undecided.
"This is a national problem, and it needs
national attention. This situation, this tragedy is fixable," Vicky
Moore said.
Eight months after the deaths of the three
teenagers, gates were installed at the Deerfield Ave. crossing.
|
