2015 had the highest number of fatalities on Washington railroads
Jan 4, 2016, 11:24 PM | Updated: May 7, 2016, 11:27 pm
Twenty-seven people were killed on Washington train tracks in 2015.
That is the highest amount of train-pedestrian fatalities in a single year in the state — and more than in the 20 previous years.
Gus Malones with BSNF said some of the fatalities can be attributed to technology.
“People are on their headsets or iPhones and they have their heads down, so there are various distractions,” Malones said.
Not all train-pedestrian deaths were accident related, however. One-third of those deaths were suicides.
As BSNF looks at the fatality numbers, they found most railway fatalities occur on the tracks between Olympia and Bellingham, which is the most populated area along the I-5 corridor.
“Trains are quieter than ever and many people simply don’t hear them until it’s too late,” Malones said. “The general rule is: expect a train on any track, any time, in any direction.”
A railroad official says a 53-year-old man was struck and killed by an Amtrak train in Sumner on Saturday morning, making the death the first train-pedestrian fatality in 2016.
Ruth Johnson contributed to this article.
