Teenager dies playing chicken with Capitol Corridor train.

[Texan Eagle]

This whole "playing with the train" thing reminds me of an Indian movie I had seen several years ago in which the hero tries to do something similar- how long can he be on the tracks in front of an incoming train before jumping off to the side- and well, since it was a movie and he was the hero, he manages to come out successful.

Here is the video of that scene if anyone wants to see.

I remember after this movie was released a few youngsters tried to emulate their hero in real life and the end results were tragic. The railway authorities had to spend substantial money running educational messages discouraging people to try this stunt.

 

[Old MM]

Teen Dies Playing Chicken With Trains: Tragedy Strikes San Lorenzo High School (VIDEO, PHOTO)

The student community at San Lorenzo High School has been shocked by his tragic death, and have commented that he will be remembered as a kind, caring and sweet boy who always put others before himself.

No, he'll be remembered as a kid who got killed playing chicken with an Amtrak train.

A "kind, caring and sweet boy who always put others before himself" doesn't create a tragedy for the crew and passengers of an Amtrak train.

That is not a fair statement. Look, I apologize to those whose feathers I might have ruffled, it's very true that when I get fired up about something I tend to use hyperbole. For those who offered language assistance, thank you kindly, I know perfectly well what "sociopath" means and I am not actually making that judgment against any poster here. I am however, taking issue with statements that blame the victim, and the teenager who lost his life is a victim, like it or not. Moreover his family and friends will never be the same and bear a grief that is something altogether different. Is the crew affected? No doubt. It's fine to have compassion for the crew but why does that include making disparaging remarks about the child who died.... a teenager is still a child or not much beyond that. The statement that the child was making a choice also seems a bit cold and doesn't make sense to me. Seriously? This is the well known phenomenon of the young brain being still not developed enough to comprehend consequences in their entirely until maybe age 24-25. People differ. Even the most level headed, sensible teens can have a lapse in judgment and either make a mistake or just plain do something out of character. Finally, it is agreed that most people's dumb mistakes don't involve playing on train tracks.. but I can't pass judgment on a young person who died tragically because of his mistake.

 

[zepherdude]

What if the young man was challenged by his buddies, what is it....ahh, I double dare ya to play chicken. Ya ain't got no cahonnes if you don't.....Peer pressure is intense at 15. Maybe his Girl Friend was there and he was trying to impress her or act up for his other dudes and buddies. We don't know what happened. I dare say it should not be our intent here to bash him. He was 15 folks and maybe trying to be a stud. Well, he was'nt and he died. Its tragic and it happened and its done. Its Tragic for ALL involved, so lets let it go at that. If you were his family would you want to see his death debated on this Amtrak open form? Who can say what any 15 year old young dude will do.

 

[Ryan]

Every time one of these stories gets posted, there is a slew of blame the victim comments.

I don't see anyone here blaming the engineer or the kid's family.

You don't get to play the victim card when you willingly put yourself on a set of train tracks in front of an oncoming train.

 

[JayPea]

When I was very young, 8 years old or so, amongst my stupid mistakes WAS playing on the railroad tracks that were right behind my house. My friend, also consequence challenged, did the same. Very fortunately a tragedy of this nature didn't occur before one of us learned our lesson. A session with my mom and her trusty paddle did the trick. We still had our fun with trains, though. We also did the penny thing ( I wonder how many boys who lived near railroad tracks DIDN'T do this? But my friend and I, not satisfied with seeing pennies smashed, moved on to bigger and better things: nickels, dimes, quarters, and, on one occasion, a dollar bill. At least the dollar bill was still usable; it was, not surprisingly, cut in half, but Scotch tape repaired the damage. Then, when we tired of defacing US currency, we tried other things such as 3-D baseball cards, Matchbox cars, Tonka trucks....... :lol: We even tried basketballs, but unfortunately never did get one to stay on the rail long enough. We had to be satisfied with placing the ball on the ballast in the middle of the tracks. :lol:

Back to the subject at hand: sympathies go out to the family and friends of this young man, as well as to the crewmembers of the train involved.

 

[AmtrakBlue]

<blockquote class='ipsBlockquote'data-author="JayPea" data-cid="434582" data-time="1365900441"><p>

When I was very young, 8 years old or so, amongst my stupid mistakes WAS playing on the railroad tracks that were right behind my house. My friend, also consequence challenged, did the same. Very fortunately a tragedy of this nature didn't occur before one of us learned our lesson. A session with my mom and her trusty paddle did the trick. We still had our fun with trains, though. We also did the penny thing ( I wonder how many boys who lived near railroad tracks DIDN'T do this? But my friend and I, not satisfied with seeing pennies smashed, moved on to bigger and better things: nickels, dimes, quarters, and, on one occasion, a dollar bill. At least the dollar bill was still usable; it was, not surprisingly, cut in half, but Scotch tape repaired the damage. Then, when we tired of defacing US currency, we tried other things such as 3-D baseball cards, Matchbox cars, Tonka trucks....... :lol: We even tried basketballs, but unfortunately never did get one to stay on the rail long enough. We had to be satisfied with placing the ball on the ballast in the middle of the tracks. :lol: <br />

<br />.</p></blockquote>

NOW we know what causes derailments! :giggle:

 

[SarahZ]

No, his brain is not fully developed at 15, but he still knew what he was doing was dangerous. Otherwise, it wouldn't be called "playing chicken".

My heart goes out to him, his family, his friends, and the crew, but I'm not going to pretend he had no idea what he was doing was extremely dangerous. Saying that what he did was stupid is not the same as me calling him stupid. I'm sure he WAS a very nice kid, and it's obvious that young girl misses him tremendously. It's very sad. But, that doesn't change the fact that HE made a mistake, not his parents, and not the crew. He is to blame.

My parents taught me every driving safety rule in the book, but I still put eight people in my small car when I was 16. Only two of us were buckled up. Luckily, we didn't get into an accident, but we could have, and it wouldn't have been my parents' fault. They told me to never, ever drive with more than one person in my car, and I ignored them because I was 16 and thought I wouldn't get caught. Well, my dad DID see me and grounded me for a month when I got home. That is why, when a teenager does something incredibly stupid, I don't rush straight to, "Where were their parents?!?" For all I know, they were told to stay off the tracks (or whatever) and ignored them due to peer pressure, being a dumb teenager, or whatever.

 

[battalion51]

I think its safe to say that most people feel a certain amount of empathy for the family and friends of the trespasser. However, I think most people among these ranks will feel a greater amount of empathy for the Conductors and Engineers who have to deal with this situation. These men and women showed up to work, did their job to the best of their ability, and now they're in a terrible situation, because they did their job. There's a certain number of parallels in

. We tend to feel a greater amount of empathy towards the crews that have to deal with this because we respect them and the job they do. However, we don't feel nearly as much empathy for those who choose to put themselves in harms way. I empathize with the family, but more empathy in my opinion is due towards this crew, and any crew that has ever dealt with this situation.

 

[crescent2]

A 15-year-old is a kid. It's a tough crowd that can't express compassion for someone who was killed, even when due to his own actions. Many people have done a few dangerous, dumb things even as an adult, and gotten away with them. He wasn't as lucky. He misjudged speed, distance, his own agility, or whatever. And lost his life for that misjudgment.

Unless you've never run a red light, driven way too fast for conditions, gone on a date with someone you really knew very little about, driven while texting or some other distracting activity, given a stranger a ride, driven after having too much to drink or ridden with a driver who had, etc, etc....

I've never done some of these, but I've done a few of them and probably other stupid, dangerous things as well. And I'm no wild-child.

Maybe it's not the intention, but some posts here do come across as cold, critical, and uncaring. Feeling compassion for the teen doesn't take away any of the compassion for the engineer. It's just sad thing for all.

 

[AmtrakBlue]

It could also be that those who expressed sympathy to the crew did so because they figure everyone is already feeling sympathy for the kid, his family & friends. I'm sure a lot of people don't even think about the crew & passengers on the train involved, except rail fans.

 

[WhoozOn1st]

The surviving kids should all be arrested for trespassing as well. Yes arrested, as put in jail. That's my opinion.

Arrested, yes. Jail, no. Maybe some community service working for Operation Lifesaver.

 

[AmtrakBlue]

Just read in our local online "paper" that a 20 yr old college student stepped in front of a freight train here in Newark DE. It was 7:30 this morning, so not sure if maybe he was drunk or if he was committing suicide.

 

[DET63]

Teen Dies Playing Chicken With Trains: Tragedy Strikes San Lorenzo High School (VIDEO, PHOTO)

The student community at San Lorenzo High School has been shocked by his tragic death, and have commented that he will be remembered as a kind, caring and sweet boy who always put others before himself.

No, he'll be remembered as a kid who got killed playing chicken with an Amtrak train.

A "kind, caring and sweet boy who always put others before himself" doesn't create a tragedy for the crew and passengers of an Amtrak train.

That is not a fair statement.

Actually, it is. Mind you, I'm not in favor of speaking ill of the dead, but I also make a distinction between someone who dies prematurely due to cancer or some other serious illness, an innocent victim who's shot to death, a passenger in a vehicle who's fatally injured in an accident, etc., on the one hand, and someone who dies while intentionally engaging in highly risky behavior on the other.

Look, I apologize to those whose feathers I might have ruffled, it's very true that when I get fired up about something I tend to use hyperbole. For those who offered language assistance, thank you kindly, I know perfectly well what "sociopath" means and I am not actually making that judgment against any poster here. I am however, taking issue with statements that blame the victim, and the teenager who lost his life is a victim, like it or not.

Again, I make a distinction between this person as a victim of his own choices and someone who dies because of choices that others have made, or who otherwise dies due to circumstances beyond his control.

Moreover his family and friends will never be the same and bear a grief that is something altogether different. Is the crew affected? No doubt. It's fine to have compassion for the crew but why does that include making disparaging remarks about the child who died.... a teenager is still a child or not much beyond that. The statement that the child was making a choice also seems a bit cold and doesn't make sense to me. Seriously? This is the well known phenomenon of the young brain being still not developed enough to comprehend consequences in their entirely until maybe age 24-25. People differ.

People may differ, but nobody's a robot. Even a very basic understanding of physics (large heavy objects can smash smaller objects) is usually enough to keep even the most foolhardy kid out of trouble.

Even the most level headed, sensible teens can have a lapse in judgment and either make a mistake or just plain do something out of character. Finally, it is agreed that most people's dumb mistakes don't involve playing on train tracks.. but I can't pass judgment on a young person who died tragically because of his mistake.

Mother Nature and the laws of physics gave the youth a death sentence. That's a pretty harsh judgment that cannot be appealed.

 

[the Other Mike]

Did he think that the train was going to swerve out of the way?
Condolences to the crew & passengers.

Thats the best comment of the thread. It's the crew that suffers the most.

Oh Yeah that is the best comment, and no one could possibly be suffering except for the crew. I can't believe I just read that. It's fine to be pro Amtrak, it's crossing the border into being a sociopath to worry more for who is left alive. What , you don't have enough soul to care for both the victims and the survivors?

And to think I held back and didn't say " a case of thinning the herd". so now I've said it. Sorry if you're offended but I DO feel for the engineer more than anyone else.

As far as me having enough soul ? I've buried many friends and family and been main caregiver for 3 of them going through a terminal illness. For me to watch people suffer through death and months and months of pain ? Sorry, I have no feelings for people who make stupid decisions that bring misery to others Sure, had it been an 8 year old I would feel horrible for all involved but at 15 you should know better.

As someone else stated, if the kid was "judgement Challenged", why did the parents let him out on his own ? Seems to me you should be mad at the parents for not teaching their kids common sense.

I find it strange that the kid who caused all the problems is called the victim. That just doesn't make sense to me at all.

Flame away if it makes you feel better, call me names if you need to boost your position but YES, this is a site about Amtrak so I would sure hope it's ok to be PRO Amtrak. It's not like the train went out of it's way to hit an innocent bystander.

If you go back and REread the post, I didn't say no one else was suffering, I said it's the crew that has to live this memory every day they run that route and pass that very spot that ends up suffering the most. To be in the cab of that engine knowing theres nothing you can do is a horrible feeling that few people understand.

I hope you have a nice night and remember to stay off the tracks.

 

[Anderson]

A 15-year-old is a kid. It's a tough crowd that can't express compassion for someone who was killed, even when due to his own actions. Many people have done a few dangerous, dumb things even as an adult, and gotten away with them. He wasn't as lucky. He misjudged speed, distance, his own agility, or whatever. And lost his life for that misjudgment.
Unless you've never run a red light, driven way too fast for conditions, gone on a date with someone you really knew very little about, driven while texting or some other distracting activity, given a stranger a ride, driven after having too much to drink or ridden with a driver who had, etc, etc....

I've never done some of these, but I've done a few of them and probably other stupid, dangerous things as well. And I'm no wild-child.

Maybe it's not the intention, but some posts here do come across as cold, critical, and uncaring. Feeling compassion for the teen doesn't take away any of the compassion for the engineer. It's just sad thing for all.

The posts come across that way because this is far from the first time we've seen something in this broad vein happen. The first incident can be a tragedy, but sooner or later most of us have just started rolling our eyes. Usually, there's some form of abject stupidity involved beyond just "driving too fast for conditions" (which is, frankly, a judgment call...sort of like I can probably find, with some research, reports showing that highway X is designed for well over the posted speed limit in cars with 30+ year old safety standards). It's more like going on a blind internet date and meeting somewhere private.

I think Melbourne's Metro people got the best commentary on this with their "Dumb Ways to Die" music video. Are we a bit cold on this? Yes, I suspect we are, but I think we've also got cause, not to mention frustration and exhaustion with this sort of thing.

 

[MattW]

Maybe if the railroads started charging the estate/parents of the deceased for the cleanup and repair costs, incidents like this would go down. Cold? Oh yes. But maybe a few high-profile cases of parents burying their kids, then getting hit with a couple-thousand dollar cleanup and repair bill might just prevent a few cases. Not all of course, but maybe enough to make a difference. Beyond this, there's frankly no more real options. Could Operation Lifesaver have more of a presence? Sure, but who's going to fund it? Even if OL hammers "don't be stupid around tracks" into an audience for hours on end, would all of them even listen? Beyond this, there's just the usual grade separation and fencing, which doesn't even work in all areas and costs far more than any safety campaign would. There's already a little bit of precedence for something like this. A bystander not too long ago, successfully sued the estate of someone who stepped in front of a train and was hit by that person's bodyparts. Why should entities who were doing absolutely everything right have to shoulder the resulting financial burden?

 

[Anderson]

Setting aside the improbability of that working, I'm thinking a wholly unsympathetic media reaction might have an impact. Not necessarily outright ridicule, but how about a rather cold shrug to the death and some "human interest" coverage on the train crews?

(Actually, the latter would be a good idea in general...I know it's traumatizing, but some interviews with crews (even well after the fact) about how it's impacted them (including some who can't work anymore) wouldn't be a bad idea.)

 

[Bus Nut]

Teen Dies Playing Chicken With Trains: Tragedy Strikes San Lorenzo High School (VIDEO, PHOTO)

The student community at San Lorenzo High School has been shocked by his tragic death, and have commented that he will be remembered as a kind, caring and sweet boy who always put others before himself.

No, he'll be remembered as a kid who got killed playing chicken with an Amtrak train.

A "kind, caring and sweet boy who always put others before himself" doesn't create a tragedy for the crew and passengers of an Amtrak train.

That's a little harsh. Teenagers haven't fully developed the part of the brain responsible for anticipating the consequences of our actions. When I was quite a bit younger I nearly got run over twice, once by a CSX train, and once by a trolley, trying to take a "short cut" across the ROW while trainspotting. I thought I was fast and nimble and found out otherwise! That's why Operation Lifesaver is so needed. I don't recall there being any program like that when I was a child even though we lived around active tracks. There was a terrible tragedy in a neighboring town when a high school track athlete was hit by a high-speed commuter train while jogging in the woods. I had played along portions of those tracks as a child although I had heeded parental warnings to stay off the trestle.

Sometimes young people need to have things clearly illustrated and not just assume that they "get" it. Your typical teenager thinks he or she can jump out of the way in time and sadly we know that that is not the case. Something as simple as catching your foot under the lip of the rail can send you to the ground, in pain, immobile, in the path of a train that can't be stopped. Or your senses fool you as in the case on the Old Colony line where a girl jumped under the gates as soon as the train passed only to be struck by a train on the second track.

 

[Bus Nut]

Why is compassion an either/or? Of course we shouldn't fall into inappropriate sympathy. There is no defense for playing around railroad tracks. It should be forbidden and not supported. However, clearly these kids got through fences, trespassed, and were playing this elicit game. Of course it was stupid, but I'm not sure that scorn and hatred after the fact really does anything more than feed an ego-need for self-righteousness and cause pain for the loved ones they leave behind. Of course they know what he did was stupid.

But think about this: why do pedestrian strikes traumatize train crews (and subway drivers and bus drivers)? Could it be because our innate empathy makes it extremely difficult and painful to watch a person end their life, to in fact participate in ending the life of another human being (even if you did everything humanly possible to avert it)? Some transit workers are traumatized for weeks or months, or even have to change careers. Let's not disrespect the essential humanity of train crews who experience the trauma of pedestrian strikes in our zeal to "defend" them.

Does Operation Lifesaver work? Does DARE work? Driver's ed? Sex ed? Any of the other programs intended to deter risky behavior by adolescents and pre-teens before they find out the hard way? Some of these have been researched in detail and they are more or less effective depending on the didactic method--more authoritarian, less informative programs tend to be less effective. As I said, there was no OL at my school when I was a kid despite all the active tracks, and despite being a "smaaaht" kid by the school's measure I nearly did myself in.

 

[Anderson]

You know, I'll admit that if there are extenuating circumstances (malfunctioning or apparently malfunctioning signals/gates, for example, or the example of a second track) my sympathy will be extended...but at the same time, if there's extenuating stupidity my needle will go the other way as well. There's a difference between someone who gets trapped on the tracks through no fault of their own and someone who walks out there to play chicken.

And yes, I get this from an adrenaline standpoint as well. I can conceive of what was going through their minds (heck, I've been bungee jumping more times than I can really count...of course I get the adrenaline "thing"). Heck, it probably wasn't the first time they did that, and taking a wild guess it was probably a damn big rush when they did it the first time.

But just because I can track someone's thinking* doesn't make them any less stupid. There's a difference between a calculated, relatively negligible risk and an obscene one that's been on my radar as long as I can recall (not to mention the principle of loading up on safety precautions when taking any sort of risk)...the closest I think I ever came to the latter was a heckling incident when I was 17.

*Was going to say "train of thought"...turns of phrase can get awkward, can't they?

 

[Ryan]

I'm not sure that scorn and hatred after the fact really does anything

I think that's overstating things a bit.
Indifference perhaps, but I'm not seeing any hate for the poor kid.

 

[RampWidget]

What kind of parent raises a kid this ignorant and then leaves them to their own devices?
Darwin award forthcoming?

More like damage, instead of Darwin, award once a trial lawyer gets involved. There are some trial lawyers that specialize in trespasser vs. train cases and will analyze the crew's and the RR's actions down to the nth degree trying to obtain large damage awards for their clients (for which the trial lawyer typically keeps 40%).

Edit: punctuation

 

[Ryan]

Their clients being the families of the deceased?

That's reprehensible.

 

[AmtrakBlue]

Their clients being the families of the deceased?
That's reprehensible.

I agree, but unfortunately there are people who would do that. That is why products & services costs are so high, because of the insurance companies, doctor's, etc need to have to protect themselves from unethical people & the jury & judges who award high payouts for lawsuits.

 

[RampWidget]

Their clients being the families of the deceased?
That's reprehensible.

Yep. Happens almost every time. Some attorneys, or their paid "runners," even attempt to contact the surviing family members on the day of the incident.