On February 22, 1967, at 12:05 p.m., a station wagon traveling on Fruitridge Road in Sacramento, California collided with a Southern Pacific Company freight train at the intersection of the Southern Pacific Company railroad tracks and Fruitridge Road. Immediately prior to and after the collision, the flashing lights and bells of the automatic railroad crossing warning devices were functioning properly. In addition, the engineer was sounding the locomotive's horn and bell in the prescribed manner, and the locomotive's regular and oscillating headlights were functioning. The station wagon was destroyed and its nine occupants were fatally injured. The probable cause of this accident was failure of the driver of the 1961 Ford station wagon to stop his vehicle short of the railroad-highway grade crossing and to remain clear of the tracks until the approaching train had passed as required by California State law. The Board finds circumstantial evidence which suggests that the driver had gradually come to believe that there was little risk in proceeding to cross despite the flashing red lights and inconvenient and possibly unwarranted loss of time would result if he did not cross. Because of their bearing on the nationwide problem of grade crossing accidents, these circumstances are analyzed in the body of the report. (Author)
Southern Pacific Railroad Company Fruitridge Road Grade Crossing Sacramento, California, February 22, 1967
1968
42 pages
Report
No indication
English
Railroad grade crossing survey in California
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|Railroad shops of the Southern Pacific R. R. at Sacramento
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