A Bad Day to Be On the Train Tracks

Actually, it's always a bad day to be messing around on railroad tracks, but yesterday was especially deadly in Southern California:

A Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy says three men have been struck and killed by an Amtrak train.

Deputy Jeff Gordon says the train was en route from San Diego to Union Station in downtown Los Angeles shortly before 9 p.m. Monday when the conductor spotted three people on the tracks in Commerce. Gordon says the conductor applied the brakes, but couldn't stop in time.

Authorities initially reported two men were struck and pronounced dead at the scene and the third person was missing. The third victim was found later.

I hate train stories written by people who don't know anything about trains. The conductor didn't see the people and apply the brakes, the engineer did. The conductor probably didn't even know they hit anything until he heard it on the radio from the engineer.

And that wasn't the only incident:

A woman whose car became trapped on railroad tracks was struck and killed by a train with such force, the impact threw the vehicle nearly 100 feet.

The accident happened just after 2:00 p.m. Monday at the intersection of Milliken Avenue and Guasti Road.

According to Ontario police investigators, the female driver and a truck stopped on the railroad tracks at a red light instead of stopping behind the tracks as required.

Two vehicles, the woman's 1998 Honda Accord and a truck, were side-by-side on the tracks during a red light.

"The truck pulled out of the way and the lady probably did not see the train coming," Ontario Fire Captain Dan Simeon said. "She was trying to get out of her car when the train slammed into it."

Never, ever, ever stop your car on railroad tracks. You're not going to win against a 55-car freight train.