CZ Train Truck Collision In Nevada (2011)

[Devil's Advocate]

Looks like this brings the list of active lawsuits to nine or so.

Lawsuit #01 Amtrak sues John Davis Trucking

Lawsuit #02 Victim sues John Davis Trucking

Lawsuit #03 Victim sues John Davis Trucking

Lawsuit #04 Victim sues John Davis Trucking

Lawsuit #05 Victim sues John Davis Trucking

Lawsuit #06 Victim sues John Davis Trucking

Lawsuit #07 Victim sues Amtrak

Lawsuit #08 John Davis Trucking sues Amtrak & Union Pacific

Lawsuit #09 Union Pacific sues John Davis Trucking

Suing a company with something like a 43 billion dollar market cap seems like a bit of a long shot to me, but what do I know.

Lawrence Valli

Fined for speeding four times in the last three years.

John Davis Trucking

1110 Muleshoe Road

Battle Mountain, NV 89820

Phone: 775-635-2805

Fax: 775-635-8017

USDOT: 159572

Total Trucks: 67

Total Drivers: 130

 

[the_traveler]

I agree with afigg. The photos show the crossing arms down (on both sides)! That says to me that the truck drove AROUND the down crossing arms! (I hardly think UP rushed out a crew as soon as they heard about the accident just to reinstall a broken crossing arm before a photo of the scene was taken!

)

 

[afigg]

I agree with afigg. The photos show the crossing arms down (on both sides)! That says to me that the truck drove AROUND the down crossing arms! (I hardly think UP rushed out a crew as soon as they heard about the accident just to reinstall a broken crossing arm before a photo of the scene was taken!

)

Don't want to rehash all the discussions earlier in this thread, but the truck driver was clearly going way too fast if his intent was to drive around the gates. He slammed on the brakes and left around 320' of skid marks up to the location where his cab punched through the side of the trans-dorm car. There was a guardrail to the driver's right side of the road at the intersection and the train was also coming from the driver's right. It appears that the truck driver swerved to his left to aim for some open space and instinctively head away from the train. In doing so, his truck and trailers missed hitting the gate, but broadsided the train. To maneuver around the gates, he would have to slow down, say 10 or 15 mph. And the train got to the crossing 2 plus seconds before the truck did. No, the evidence strongly suggests that the truck was going down the road at a pretty good clip, and the driver was distracted, inattentive, zoned out, or should have not been operating the truck for some reason, and saw the gates & lights way too late to come to a full stop in time.

 

[PRR 60]

I agree with afigg. The photos show the crossing arms down (on both sides)! That says to me that the truck drove AROUND the down crossing arms! (I hardly think UP rushed out a crew as soon as they heard about the accident just to reinstall a broken crossing arm before a photo of the scene was taken!

)

The highway skid marks show the truck was in a locked-wheel skid for nearly 300 feet prior to impact. With the wheels locked, there is no steering. The driver is helpless. The driver did not intentionally drive around the gates. The out-of-control truck happened to miss the gates.

The lawsuit by the UP is SOP. In a case like this, all parties sue each other, then let the court sort things out. Once you file suit, you have the right to root through evidence held by the other party (discovery). Law suits and counter suits by parties on both sides of an incident happen all the time. It is only a matter of when, not if. Similarly, a passenger injured on that train should sue everyone - the trucking company, Amtrak and the Union Pacific. It is not up to a passenger to determine who is at fault. Some times what initially seems obvious becomes less so once all the facts are known. Let the courts do that, and then you can be in correct line for compensation once the determination has been made.

 

[RPE]

Now on the bright side, just saw this on the train orders site. Hope this is true. I am scheduled for the 5th out of Chicago. Anybody have any word through their contacts?

Passenger Trains > Zephyr east of DEN open for bookings beginning Friday

Date: 09/11/11 20:29

Amtrak is accepting bookings for the California Zephyr east of Denver, beginning with the departures from Chicago and Denver on Friday, Sep. 16.

Space is available through all the usual sources including Amtrak.com

There has been no official announcement of service resumption; the advisory still says that the Zephyr is "canceled between Denver and Chicago

until a date to be announced later this month." Perhaps an update tomorrow morning?

 

[Devil's Advocate]

In possibly related news the NTSB has finally recommend that commercial truck drivers be banned from cell phone use while actively driving. The statement is included in its entirety for the following reasons.

1. It is an unrestricted press release intended for immediate dissemination.

2. It is a work of the US government for the purpose of informing its citizens.

3. Righthaven LLC has been sanctioned and is likely to file for bankruptcy.

National Transportation Safety Board

Office of Public Affairs

September 13, 2011

NTSB calls for ban on use of mobile phones by commercial drivers; cites need for improved mediam barriers in accident that killed 11 in Kentucky

Citing distraction from the use of a mobile phone by the driver of an 18-wheel semi truck as the probable cause of a crash that killed 11 people, the National Transportation Safety Board recommended banning the use of mobile phones by commercial drivers except in emergencies.

"Distracted driving is becoming increasingly prevalent, exacerbating the danger we encounter daily on our roadways," said NTSB Chairman Deborah A.P. Hersman. "It can be especially lethal when the distracted driver is at the wheel of a vehicle that weighs 40 tons and travels at highway speeds."

On March 26, 2010, at about 5:14 a.m. CDT, near Munfordville, Kentucky, a truck-tractor semitrailer combination unit driven by a 45-year-old male departed the left lane of southbound Interstate 65, crossed a 60-foot-wide median, struck and overrode a cable barrier system, entered the northbound travel lanes, and struck a 15-passenger van, driven by a 41-year-old male and occupied by 11 passengers (eight adults, two small children, and an infant). The truck driver and 10 of the 12 occupants of the van were killed.

Investigators determined that the driver used his mobile phone for calls and text messages a total of 69 times while driving in the 24-hour period prior to the accident. The driver made four calls in the minutes leading up to the crash, making the last call at 5:14 a.m. CDT, coinciding with the time that the truck departed the highway.

The Safety Board also determined that the median barrier system, which had recently been installed following another cross-median fatal accident on the same section of I-65, contributed to the severity of the accident because it was not designed to redirect or contain a vehicle of the accident truck's size. Because median crossover accidents involving large vehicles are so deadly, the NTSB made recommendations regarding the use of appropriately designed median barriers on roadways with high volumes of commercial vehicles.

At the meeting today, the NTSB issued 15 new safety recommendations to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA), all 50 states, and the District of Columbia. The Safety Board also reiterated two previously issued recommendations to the FMCSA.

A synopsis of the NTSB report, including the probable cause, findings, and a complete list of all the safety recommendations, is available on the NTSB's website. The NTSB's full report will be available on the website in several weeks.

I'm fine with all of that so long as it's the trucking companies themselves who are paying for all these upgrades and enhancements necessary to keep their distracted drivers from killing and maiming the rest of us.

And here is a portion of the AP writeup for critical, educational, and research purposes.

The NTSB doesn't have the power to ban cell calls and texting. It sent its recommendation to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and all 50 states for action. Kentucky is among 34 states that have barred texting for all drivers but it doesn't outlaw cellphone calls behind the wheel. The proposed ban would cover commercial driver's license holders while they operate vehicles such as tractor-trailers, buses or tanker trucks.

Sounds good to me. Can we add full size trucks and SUV's to the list as well?

The NTSB voted to accept its investigators' conclusion that Laymon, distracted by his phone, caused the deadly wreck. In an interview before the hearing, Misty Laymon said her husband was careful about using his phone while driving, even buying a hands-free device to ensure safety. "I don't want him perceived to be another incompetent driver who killed people," she said.

If that's what she was so worried about then she should have told her easily distracted husband not to use his phone while driving. The only thing I want to hear from Misty Laymon on this subject is that she feels absolutely horrible for all the innocent people her husband killed.

Instead we get a story about how Misty Laymon stubbornly refuses to grasp that it's not simply a matter of having our hands free. It's about being able to mentally process what's occurring around us and react to it quickly and appropriately. But I suppose studies and statistics are no match for a public that's too distracted to read them and hasn't been taught how to understand them.

 

[George Harris]

Count me as one that does not see the cell phone use as being the issue. It was at most incidental to going to fast, being unaware of conditions, taking unnecessary risks, etc. While we will never know what he was thinking, if anything, it looks much like he though he could beat the train. Getting abig rig from a stop back up to speed is neither as simple nor as quick as doing it with a car, so he may have just felt he could beat it and avoid a stop and restart. That he did not see the train or the flashing lights at the crossing simply does not hold water. Cell phone or no cell phone, those shold not have been missed by anyone competent enough to be allowed to drive anything larger than a riding lawnmower.

As to grade a seperation, this is a crossing with good visibility and, despite being a US numbered highway, a relatively low traffic volume, so it would not be near the top of the priority listing for grade seperation.

 

[The Davy Crockett]

Yep, this thread was last posted to well over two years ago, but the Reno Gazette Journal had an article on the ongoing litigation yesterday. From the article:

More than two years after a tractor-trailer slammed into an Amtrak train east of Reno, killing six, lawyers for the trucking company say they have evidence showing the railroad companies tampered with a video of the crash and are hiding or have destroyed the gate arm from the crossing.

Steve Jaffe, a lawyer for John Davis Trucking Co., said the key issue in a federal lawsuit and about 25 Washoe District Court cases that were consolidated into one is “what Union Pacific did to the evidence and what role will that play in whether we can get a fair trial.”

The trucking company lawyers claim that a video from the train’s camera was altered to make it look like the crossing gate was working and say the actual gate arm has disappeared. They also are claiming that the data collector located in a small building next to the rail crossing contained no data.

The lawyers have asked the state judge to sanction the railroad “for the intentional or grossly negligent destruction of evidence.”

Vernae Graham, spokeswoman for Amtrak, declined to comment, saying, “We don’t discuss cases under litigation.”

Aaron Hunt, spokesman for Union Pacific, which is responsible for the rail tracks, said the company strongly denies the allegations.

“We plan to vigorously defend ourselves in court,” he said in an email.

And:

The National Transportation Safety Board investigated the crash and in December 2012 released a report that blamed the crash on Valli’s “delayed breaking” as he approached the rail crossing. The report said Valli was an “inattentive” driver and the trucking company failed to adequately maintain the truck’s brakes.

John Davis Trucking Co., Amtrak and Union Pacific have competing lawsuits in U.S. District Court in Reno that blame each other for the crash.

The federal judge has ordered a settlement conference for March 3 and has set a trial date for Aug. 4 if a settlement isn’t possible.

The state court cases were filed by Amtrak employees and passengers who were injured or the families of people killed. The next hearing before Judge Scott Freeman is set for Jan. 23.

John Davis Trucking Co. lawyer Jaffe argues that none of the cases can move forward until their destruction and tampering of evidence claims are resolved.

There is more at the above link.

Nothing is over till the lawyers make a tidy sum...

 

[pianocat]

For anyone interested - there is an active Facebook page dedicated to this accident, simply type in Amtrak California Zephyr Memorial Page at Facebook. Several passengers from that train continue to update the site and there are personal accounts recorded if you go back to June, 2011. I was on this CZ on that day, but got off at SLC with a tour group a few hours before the collision [my first Amtrak LD train]. It was running a few hours late. Sadly, the lawyers indeed will draw this out for years to come, making the families relive the horror. Amtrak did nothing wrong!! [imho]

 

[Just-Thinking-51]

The "Truth" has little to do in a court room.

The actual gate arm was it ever recovered? Or did it get push in the train and burn up in the following flames?

The video from the train camera was it a frame grabber? So the lawyers can easy claim it faked.

It not like there a pile of money at the end of this road. Just people try to avoid a jail sentence.

 

[Devil's Advocate]

These sound like some pretty wild claims. I hope the trucking company is sued out of existence. Ideally a company with as many infractions as John Davis Trucking Company would have been fined and regulated out of existence long before they could kill innocent people that had nothing to do with their sloppy "safety be damned" work ethic. The truck driver is finally off the road but what a heavy cost it took to make that happen.

 

[Just-Thinking-51]

A trucking company is only required to carry one million of insurance, three million if hauling Hazmat.

While this company may own it tractor and trailer, and not be incorporated. Most trucking companies are LLC, with leased equipment, tractor are common, trailer less so.

The government is cracking down on trucking, bus companies left and right. However it take a few hours to start a new one. The Feds have just cracked that problem, but it take a lot of paperwork and due process to shut down a company. Even when it a clear cut problem, it also can be a easy to fix issue.

The company that I work for got in trouble with paper log book to the point it may be shut down. Then overnight we switch to E-logs, problems ended. Now were a safe company. Some say we targeted for extra inspections, but we did what the government wanted and were still here.

As for the "truth" it just a side issue. Welcome to our galaxy.

.

 

[domefoamer]

One million dollars liability insurance! That's the smallest professional liability policy I can buy from an insurance agent, and I'm a sole proprieter with no heavy equipment. Those trucking companies are getting a free ride.

 

[Karl1459]

A judge in this case has ruled on the claims Amtrak and UP tampered with crossing gate and train video evidence... no evidence of tampering. Another pretrial BS motion resolved.

Article: http://www.rgj.com/story/news/crime/2014/03/28/sanctions-rail-companies-amtrak-crash-case/7031531/

 

[George Harris]

A judge in this case has ruled on the claims Amtrak and UP tampered with crossing gate and train video evidence... no evidence of tampering. Another pretrial BS motion resolved.

Article: http://www.rgj.com/story/news/crime/2014/03/28/sanctions-rail-companies-amtrak-crash-case/7031531/

Look at the picture in Devil Advocate's post above (post No. 301) and you can see both gates. This aerial view had to have been taken very soon after the accident. News copters are usually about as fast as if not faster than first responders, so there is more than just the in-cab camera to give the gate position. Even if the gate had been destroyed, which it wasn't, the counterweight would still there and it's position could be seen. By the way, it is in the position it would be for a gate down if you cannot see the gate in the picture. I can't imagine anyone even trying this sort of motion.

 

[CHamilton]

Amtrak Wins $4.55M for Deadly Nevada Accident

RENO, Nev. (CN) - A 2011 fireball that killed six people, caused by a truck slamming into Amtrak's California Zephyr, will cost a Nevada trucking company more than $4.55 million in damages, a federal jury ruled.
Investigators for the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) blamed the June 24 accident at a rail crossing on U.S. 95, about 70 miles east of Reno, on poor maintenance and inattentive driving.
John Davis Trucking, of Battle Mountain, Nev., disabled the anti-lock braking system on the trailers, did not properly adjust the brakes, used axles that were not properly matched to brake components and had 11 of 16 brake-drum surfaces worn beyond their designated service limitation, the NTSB reported.

 

[Ryan]

I'll bet they never see a quarter of that amount.

 

[Just-Thinking-51]

Oh they see a cool million. Not a penny after that.

A non-Hazmat trucking company is required to carry a million dollars of insurance. A truck company that hauls hazmats is required to carry 3 million.

Company will go into bankruptcy. So yes just under 25% Amtrak will get. Wonder how much Amtrak has pay out to the dead, and injured. Never mind the lawyers.

 

[XHRTSP]

Did anyone ever go to jail over this?

 

[afigg]

Did anyone ever go to jail over this?

The driver of the truck died in the accident. As far as I know, no criminal charges for negligence were brought against the operators or managers of the trucking company. The company may have been negligent in maintenance of the brakes and the truck, but baring a criminal indictment, the negligence is being handled as a civil matter.
Two Superliners were destroyed in the accident and a 3rd car, a coach car IIRC, suffered significant smoke and some fire damage. The award of $4.55 million is not going to cover all of Amtrak losses due to the accident. Even if there was a production line Amtrak could order Superliners from, the replacement price for each car would likely be in the $3 million range. Add in loss of business, the manhours spent dealing with the accident, an employee killed, others injured, legal costs, the $4.55 million award comes up short.

 

[user 1215]

Amtrak claimed $10 Mil in losses.

 

[amamba]

Not to mention the lives lost of the staff. They obviously cannot be brought back.

 

[Karl1459]

It looks like the John Davis Trucking website is down and their federal DOT status is "not authorized" http://safer.fmcsa.dot.gov/query.asp?query_type=queryCarrierSnapshot&query_param=USDOT&query_string=159572.

 

[neroden]

Well, the next likely step after the insurance payouts is that the various injured parties who are owed money will split up the remaining assets of the company. I wonder how much selling their fleet of trucks will generate.

 

[MikefromCrete]

Well, the next likely step after the insurance payouts is that the various injured parties who are owed money will split up the remaining assets of the company. I wonder how much selling their fleet of trucks will generate.

Not enough to cover all of the settlements.