Death On Train Tracks Can Be Avoided, According To Union Pacific ARKADELPHIA, AR -- The train that struck and killed a Hot Springs woman early Wednesday morning was en route from Mesquite, Texas, to East St. Louis, Illinois. It is one of 35 trains that pass through Arkadelphia each day, said Mark Davis, spokesman for Union Pacific Railroad. Casey Jo Walker, 20, and two male friends were walking along the tracks on the Ouachita River Bridge when they heard and saw the train coming. The two men were able to hold onto beams of the bridge and let the train pass. Rescue workers found Walker's body in the river. "It's such an avoidable tragedy," Davis said. The train tracks are a "very dangerous place to be," he said, especially at that time of night. The train's personnel told Union Pacific dispatchers that they thought they had struck someone on the tracks. The railroad notified the Arkadelphia Police Department. The train's locomotive recorder was reviewed and the crew members interviewed at the railroad's office in Little Rock, Davis said. After offering the crew members counseling and peer support, the crew was released to continue their route. To help prevent such tragedies, Davis said the railroad offers two philosophies. "Railroad tracks are for trains, not people," and "Always expect a train" to be coming down the tracks. "We ask people to stay away from railroad tracks and property" for a reason, Davis said. "We don't want people to get hurt or killed." Davis also offered condolences to Walker's family. "Our hearts go out to the family." - Donna Hilton, The Daily Siftings Herald
Another senseless tragedy that could possibly be avoided if the states were more willing to show "Operation Lifesaver" classes in schools and DMV's. Even a couple commercials now and then to show the danger's.
