Silver Star's Engineer Dies From Injuries

[AlanB]

Amtrak is saddened to announce the death of Larry Wayne Edenfield, the engineer of train 91 the Silver Star, which derailed yesterday in Liberty County, Ga.
"On behalf of all Amtrak employees, I offer my deepest condolences to the family of Wayne Edenfield," said David L. Gunn, Amtrak's President and CEO.  "He was a veteran locomotive engineer with an excellent record. This tragedy touches us all, and we mourn his untimely passing."  

Edenfield, of Macclenny, Fla. passed away today from injuries he sustained in yesterday's accident.  A 30-year railroad veteran, he had 17 years of service with Amtrak.  

Following yesterday's accident, Edenfield was airlifted to Memorial Health University Medical Center in Savannah, Ga. where he passed away this afternoon with his family at his side.  

The Amtrak press release can be found here.

This is indeed sad news. It was bad enough that the trucker lost his own life, the fact that he took the life of the engineer with his actions only makes this story a far greater tragedy.

 

[Amfleet]

This is indeed sad news. I hope this is a strong lesson for truck drivers, the danger of railroad crossings, and the power of a train.

 

[steve_relei]

We do need to do a lot moe about grade crossing safety. The other day, a couple in a truck was killed in Vancouver, WA, but a speeding BNSF train. There was a stop sign. Investigation is still pending.

I spend a lot of time around train tracks, crossings, etc., and I see a lot of things that scare me. Pedestrians, too, are frightening with their inattentiveness around railroads.

 

[AlanB]

This is indeed sad news. I hope this is a strong lesson for truck drivers, the danger of railroad crossings, and the power of a train.

We can only hope, but somehow I think that there will still be some who don't get the message. Either that or just won't have the patience to wait that extra 30 seconds. :angry:

 

[Viewliner]

This is sad news, and like Alan said, had the driver waited 30 more seconds, both he and the engineer would've lived longer lives.

 

[Amfleet]

I remember about 5 years ago when I lived in Florida during the winter there were very frightening (well, I was 12 at the time...) grade crossing safety comercials broadcast on TV. The one I remember was a family in a car and the father was going to drive around the gates, then the wife screamed, and the train smashed into the vehicle. There was another one where a couple were jogging on the railroad tracks and didn't hear the train comming and got hit (though it was cut right there as it would not be suitable for TV). These should really be broght back in Florida and other states.

 

[amtrakadirondack]

Oh, this is very sad news. Becuase of a reckless driver a another life was taken. Lets just say that the engineer will go up/\, and the trucks driver will be going down\/