Four dead, 16 injured in parade float disaster

Batman · Nov 16, 2012

This is just horrific. A parade float got stuck at a train crossing in Texas on Thursday ... and then the train came.

http://www.ourmidland.com/news/world/article_816fa0d4-fe3b-5784-be14-c1e204ab4e3e.html

A float decorated with American flags and carrying wounded veterans and their spouses to a banquet in West Texas took the full force of a train at a railroad crossing, killing at least four people and injuring 16.
Some managed to jump clear as the train bore down Thursday afternoon, blasting its horn. Horrified spectators at the parade to honor the war heroes could only watch as the carnage unfolded.

"The train honked its horn, but the 18-wheeler could not go anywhere because of the other one (truck) being right in front of it," said Daniel Quinonez, who was waiting in his vehicle as the parade went by. "It was a horrible accident to watch happen right in front of me. I just saw the people on the semi-truck's trailer panic, and many started to jump off the trailer. But it was too late for many of them."

The float was one of two flatbed tractor-trailers carrying veterans and their spouses. Police said the first truck safely crossed the tracks but that the second truck's trailer was still on the crossing as the train approached.
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93Devil · Nov 16, 2012

This is why schools never want buses to cross train tracks if at all possible.

WolvEagle · Nov 16, 2012

Two thoughts:

1. Who in the hell would run a parade across train tracks?

2. Knowing that sometimes the vehicle/marching band/whatever in front of you sometimes stops in a parade, why in the hell would you stop on train tracks? Wouldn't you wait for there to be enough room for you to stop on the other side before you crossed?

Man, some people are really friggin' stupid - and this stupidity killed people.

poindexter · Nov 16, 2012

WolvEagle said:

Two thoughts:

1. Who in the hell would run a parade across train tracks?

2. Knowing that sometimes the vehicle/marching band/whatever in front of you sometimes stops in a parade, why in the hell would you stop on train tracks? Wouldn't you wait for there to be enough room for you to stop on the other side before you crossed?

Man, some people are really friggin' stupid - and this stupidity killed people.
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Why did the truck in front stop?

I make mistakes on my job, so I am usually not quick to point fingers at people who make mistakes at theirs. But holy crap!!

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Four dead, 16 injured in parade float disaster

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Four dead, 16 injured in parade float disaster

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