The emerging view on the Canton crash is that the driver of the car blundered, for reasons unknown. (See the accounts in the Detroit News and Detroit Free Press.)
The car was traveling north on Hannan Road in Canton Township, near Wayne. The Wolverine was traveling west and up to speed (~70 mph). Looking at the Google street view it seems possible that the driver couldn't see the train behind the trees (at right), but surely he heard the horn and saw the gates. At least one eyewitness saw the same, and Amtrak says the in-cab video proves the safety devices were working. The stretch is Norfolk Southern and sees plenty of freights; maybe the driver thought that he was trying to beat a slow freight. Certainly I've played tag with a Grand Elk slow freight in Kalamazoo before, but the difference there is (a) I don't run around crossings and (b) I've seen the freight and verified it's doing about 5-10 mph. Big difference.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment