UPDATE: Victim Struck by Train in Germantown Identified
GERMANTOWN, MD. — Someone should tell their children not to play on the railroad tracks, or as in the case of one silly reporter with NBC 4 in Washington wondered, perhaps fences need to be erected along the tracks to keep people from wandering in front of trains. Of course, to protect the terminally stupid, the government could build fences along all rivers, streams, highways and rooftops.
Detectives from Montgomery County Police-Major Crimes Division continue to investigate the pedestrian that was struck by a train on January 2 in Germantown.
The victim has been identified as William Alexander Buendia Rodriguez, 20 years old, of the 18900 block of Pine Ridge Lane in Germantown. No foul play is suspected.
At approximately 1:37 a.m. on January 2, officer from the 5th District responded to the report of a pedestrian who had been struck by a train on the tracks located in the area of the Germantown MARC station located at 19330 Mateny Hill Road in Germantown. For reasons still under investigation, the male victim had been in the area of the tracks when he was struck by a train. The victim succumbed to his injuries on the scene.
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact the Montgomery County Police non-emergency number at 301-279-8000.
Police say trespasser was walking on railroad with his “hoodie” up when the train roared down the tracks
Detectives from Montgomery County Police-Major Crimes Division continue to investigate the pedestrian that was struck by a train on January 5 in Gaithersburg.
The victim has been identified as Mario Ernesto Hernandez, 18 years old, of the 700 block of West Side Drive in Gaithersburg. No foul play is suspected.
At approximately 4:12 p.m. on January 5, officers from the 6th District , the Gaithersburg Police Department and Montgomery County Fire Rescue personnel responded for the report of a pedestrian who had been struck by a train on the tracks located in the area of the Gaithersburg MARC station, 5 South Summit Avenue, Gaithersburg.
For reasons still under investigation, the male victim had been in the area of the tracks when he was struck by a train. The victim succumbed to his injuries on the scene. The investigation has revealed the MARC train operator did sound the horn and apply the train’s brakes. The operator has stated the victim had the hood on his jacket up which may have restricted his peripheral vision.
GAITHERSBURG, MD. — Detectives from the Montgomery County Police-Major Crimes Division are investigating the death of a pedestrian who was struck by a train in Gaithersburg.
At approximately 4:12 p.m. on January 5, officers from the 6th District , the Gaithersburg City Police Department and Montgomery County Fire Rescue personnel responded for the report of a pedestrian who had been struck by a train on the tracks located in the area of the Gaithersburg MARC station located at 5 South Summit Avenue in Gaithersburg.
The initial investigation has revealed that for reasons still under investigation, the male victim, believed to be an adult, had been in the area of the tracks when he was struck by a train. Montgomery County Police said “The victim succumbed to his injuries on the scene. No foul play is suspected. Detectives are currently working to establish the victim’s identity.”
The correct way to refer to the deceased man would be to call him a “trespasser” as the railroad property is private property, well-marked and is patrolled several times an hour by big iron horses which operate between Washington, D.C. and distant cities.
Anyone with information about this is incident is asked to contact the Montgomery County Police non-emergency number at 301-279-8000.
From the Federal Railway Administration:
“Railroad ROW trespass has long been a safety concern. Over the past 25 years, railroad crossing-related incidents have been declining; however, trespassing fatalities have remained constant at approximately 500 annually. Since 1996, trespass-related fatalities have outnumbered crossing-related fatalities. Another growing concern is railway security.”
Trespass on Railroad Rights-of-Way
A June 1997 incident in which two teens were fatally injured by a train on a bridge in Pittsford, NY, spurred the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (U.S. DOT) Federal Railroad Administration’s (FRA) Office of Safety to conduct research into trespass prevention at railroad rights-of-way (ROW). The U.S. DOT/Research & Innovative Technology Administration’s (RITA) John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center (Volpe Center), under the direction of FRA, conducted a 3-year demonstration of an automated prototype railroad infrastructure security system on a railroad bridge. This commercial-off-the shelf (COTS) technology system was installed at the bridge in Pittsford, NY, where the two teen fatalities had occurred.
This video-based trespass monitoring and deterrent system, shown in Figure 1, has the capability of detecting trespass events when an intrusion on the railroad ROW occurs. Once a trespass event occurs, the system transmits audible and visual signals to the monitoring workstation at the local security company, where an attendant validates the alarm by viewing the live images from the scene. The attendant then issues a real-time warning to the trespasser(s) via pole-mounted speakers near the bridge, contacts the local police, and, if necessary, the railroad police. All alarm images are stored on a wayside computer for evaluation. The system was installed in August 2001 and evaluated over a 3-year period, ending in August 2004.
The safety benefits of this prototype system were reviewed and found to be very favorable. At least 5 lives were potentially saved during 3 separate trespassing incidents over the 3-year evaluation period. This interactive system can serve as a model for railroad infrastructure security applications at other railroad ROW or bridges prone to intrusion. After the evaluation period was completed, FRA formalized a technology transfer agreement with CSX Transportation (CSXT) that handed over control of the wayside system to the railroad.
Note: this particular application is for detecting those who decide to walk across railroad bridges.
GERMANTOWN, MD. --- Someone should tell their children not to play on the railroad tracks, or as in the case of one silly reporter with NBC 4 in Washington wondered, perhaps fences need to be erected along the tracks to keep people from wandering in front of trains. Of course, to protect the terminally stupid, the government could build fences along all rivers, streams, highways and rooftops.
