Local fireman looks into recent train accident, offers advise on railroad safety

The recent wreck of a pickup truck into a train locomotive near Milo got the attention of Bill Thornton, Nevada firefighter and volunteer for Operation Lifesaver, a national program to help increase railroad safety.

Thornton said that when he looked at the accident report there were no obvious contributing factors to the wreck. The man, Eddie Hassey, was fairly young at 39, it was daylight on a clear day and the crossing was not obstructed.

"There was no reason for this wreck," Thornton said. "It could have been prevented if he had been paying attention."

Thornton said that he became involved with Operation Lifesaver six years ago and has been active giving talks on safety around railroad property and equipment.

"Six years ago Chief Bill Gillette came to me and asked me to check into Operation Lifesaver," Thornton said. "Since then I've been giving talks to lot's of groups. The biggest group is the drivers ed students but I give talks to truck drivers and bus drivers. I give trespassing talks to elementary students in the third and fourth grade about staying off of the tracks."

Thornton said he generally does not give talks to children younger than third graders because he would rather talk to the parents.

"They're the ones I need to talk to so they can pass that on to the children," Thornton said.

Thornton pointed out that over the years Operation Lifesaver has been operating collisions have been cut by two thirds, injuries have been cut by two thirds and fatalities have been cut by nearly one half. Missouri is not in the top 15 states for crossing fatalities but is number 13 for trespassing fatalities.

Thornton pointed out that railroad tracks are private property and anyone on the tracks at any place other than an approved crossing is committing a crime.

"Unless you're at an approved crossing, you're trespassing on railroad property," Thornton said.

Thornton said that his concern was also raised because the track south of town will soon be reactivated and trains will start running on it on a regular basis.

"When the biodiesel plant out at Eve starts production the railroad line south of town will get active again," Thornton said. "The concern I have is that people have gotten used to it being used only to store train cars on; and they are used to just crossing and not worrying about whether a train is coming or not."

Thornton said he would be happy to give a presentation on Operation Lifesaver to interested groups but suggests they contact him with several suggested times so he can work it into his schedule at the fire department.

"I don't do this while I'm on duty so it needs to be on one of my days off," Thornton said.

Any one interested in having Thornton speak at their group or club meeting should contact him through the fire department at (417) 448-2720. He requests that you give him at least a couple of dates to schedule a talk because he cannot schedule one while he is on duty.