Last month, there was an accident on the tracks just a couple of miles from my college. There are lots of crossings on side roads in the area, one of which is just a few car lengths from a traffic light on a road that is a popular short-cut to the highway. There was a line of traffic waiting for a red light and the lights started flashing, bars came down. One woman had her car almost on the tracks when the lights started flashing. Guy behind her had room so he backed up to give her room to get out of the way before the bar came down. She didn't back up and the bar came down on the very back of her SUV. She got out of the car to check the damage, got back into the car, and pulled forward onto the tracks.
Let me repeat that. She got out of the car to check the damage, got back into her car and pulled forward onto the tracks.
Yes, the train hit her and she died. So did 5 commuters in the first car when the 3rd rail cut through the floor of the car. The train dragged the car several hundred feet before it stopped and the first car burst into flames.
It was the worst accident in the history of the NYC commuter rail system. I figure the only way this happens is she either decided that this is how she was going to kill herself and didn't care she might kill others in the process, or she was an idiot of epic proportions.
![[No title]](/data/xfmg/thumbnail/31/31011-439c1242fe08cf6b54f32bf06523a567.jpg?1734159083)
