“A Norwich University student's truck was hit by a train at a crossing on a Class IV road. He alleged the railroad was at fault.“ He was critically injured but was soon upgraded according to a news article from the time of the crash.
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Knew the area, had loud music on and lost situational awareness. A Darwin win!
I read the entire article. It's somewhat heartening that the lawsuit was dismissed and that the Supreme Court of Vermont affirmed that outcome on appeal.
FWIW, here's a link to a Google streetview of the crossing. It's interesting to read the facts that were in dispute in the article and then use the "move around" feature of google to "drive" through the covered bridge and come upon the grade crossing.
The train blew its horn for 11 full seconds. The kid was an idiot. It seems that good ol' Yankee common sense prevailed.
Steven J. Serenska
Paradoxically, one of the Central Vermont's 2-10-4's had a "Norwich University" plate affixed to it's cab, honoring the school..
Looks like the railroad could cut down all the trees on the right side of the RR crossing and any car coming from the bridge could not see a train due to the rocks in the way.
So he had been there before...the RR crossing sign IS STRATEGICALLY PLACED, and the college student didn't bother to comprehend what words mean....WOW! He set himself up for his woes, sad to say.
