The Gilgrest Road crossing accident was a cross-class accident that occurred on March 24, 1972 in the town of Clarkstown, New York, between the hamlet of Valley Cottage and Congers, about 25 miles (40 km) northwest. from New York City. Five students from Valley Cottage were killed, and 44 others wounded.
The Penn Central railway (formerly New York Central) on Gilchrest Road West, just outside Valley Cottage, contains only crossbucks and has no additional warning hardware, such as flashing lights or warning bells. The railway is also difficult for road vehicles to see because of the curvature of roads and trees on the roadside.
Video Gilchrest Road, New York crossing accident
Accident
On the morning of 24 March 1972, 35-year-old Joseph Larkin was driving the Nyack High School school bus, with loads passing through capacity, downhill on Gilchrist Road. Reportedly the bus was filled with 48 passengers, 31 men and 17 women with several passengers standing for lack of space. Penn Central freight train number 2653 (for its main locomotive, a GE U25B), traveled at 25 miles per hour (40 km/h) with 83 transport cars loaded (73 from origin in Weehawken, New Jersey, plus ten more picked en Route in North Bergen), to Selkirk Penn Central, New York yard, to the Gilchrist Road intersection, and start blowing its horns. Larkin did not reduce the bus speed as it approached the class crossing. The train engineer saw the bus cross the tracks and immediately hit the brakes. However, the momentum of the train took him through the intersection, where he collided with the bus. The freight ripped through the school bus, cutting it in half, with the front going to stop a quarter of a mile (1.116 feet) under the tracks. The back of the bus ripped loose, and fell beside the reverse track with a number of students still inside, while several other students were ejected from the remaining bus section, passing a separate part of the floor and falling between the tracks to the train line.
Three students, Jimmy McGuinness (17), Richard Macaylo (18), and Bobby Mauterer (14) were killed instantly. 45 more students and Larkin was rushed to the nearest hospital, where a 14-year-old Thomas Grosse died of his injuries a few days later. The 16-year-old Stephan Ward died on April 14. Some surviving children need artificial limbs. One journalist wrote that after the incident the hospital had been "... suffering mothers, some still dressed in bathrobes, crowded the hospital lobby for information about their children." No crew member was injured in the accident.
A survivor, Timothy Wilkins describes that, "Suddenly, someone yells, 'Train.' I looked up and the train was there, I heard the train brake and I heard the machine... "
Maps Gilchrest Road, New York crossing accident
Trial
Larkin was taken to court and charged with negligent criminal murder in the deaths of five students. Larkin claims he has stopped completely and sees both roads before the collision; Sixteen witnesses admitted not. Larkin was given probation; the judge informs him, "You will be punished for life and deserve to be".
At the time of the accident, Larkin was a fireman and part-time bus driver who had been driving less than a week. The surviving children acknowledged the fact that they disliked Larkin, claiming that he often drove aggressively and tried to beat another car to an intersection. Larkin was sentenced to five years probation and died in October 2000.
The current railroad on Gilchrest Road West is now protected by crossbucks, flashing lights, warning bells and security gates. Regular freight trains are operated there by CSX Transportation. The accident helped to change the law that required school buses to stop, open their bus doors and listen for a certain amount of time before crossing any railway line.
Aftermath
After the accident, there was public criticism and outrage, against the driver and the fact that there were no warning gates or lights at the intersection. On 22 September 1972 the National Transportation Safety Board directed the recommendations related to the accident to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Louis M. Thayer, was one of five Board members of the Federal Council to question the witnesses and investigate the accident.
The mass for the three murdered students was held at St. Roman Catholic Church. Paul in Congers. Special Interdenominational prayer services for the recovery of wounded victims are held as part of Sunday's celebrations at the All Saints Protestant Episcopal Church at Valley Cottage.
See also
- 1972 in rail transport
- 1972 in the United States
- List of American train accidents
- List of crash intersections
- List of train accidents (1970-79)
- 1995 Fox River Grove bus collision, a similar class crossing accident on the outskirts of Chicago where a substitute school bus driver is less familiar with the route.
References
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Wallechinsky, David and Irving Wallace (eds.) (1975). People's Almanac . Garden City, New York: Doubleday & amp; Company. pp.Ã, 566-567. ISBNÃ, 0-385-04186-1. CS1 maint: Additional text: author list (link)
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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