A wrongful death lawsuit claims that several factors caused or contributed to a deadly railroad crossing accident in Montpelier, Indiana.
A pregnant woman and her infant son were hit and killed by a Norfolk Southern Railway train on September 3, 2011. The lawsuit, filed in Blackford County, Indiana by lawyers for the woman’s husband, alleges that there was no stop sign in the vicinity of the crossing, at the 200 block of North High Street. Moreover, the husband’s attorneys claim that any pavement markings warning of the approaching tracks were faded and not clearly visible.
Specifically, lawsuit alleges that the locomotive: 1) traveled at a speed too fast for conditions; 2) failed to sound its warning horn as it approached the crossing; and 3) failed to keep a proper lookout for vehicles approaching and crossing the tracks. The lawsuit also claims that a building in the immediate area of the railroad crossing created limited visibility for motorists.
Defendants named in the suit include Norfolk Southern Railway and CSX transportation.
Kristen Marie Janero (22) and her 10-month-old son were passengers in the vehicle struck by the train. Both pregnant mother and infant son were thrown from the vehicle on impact. Both were pronounced dead at the scene of the crash. Blackford County coroner, Tod Walters, said the train was traveling at 53 miles per hour at the time of the collision. The pregnant mother was not wearing a seat belt and her son, while in a car seat, was not secured within the car.
In addition to these two fatalities, two additional persons suffered injuries in the accident — the driver, Rodney Ray Brown, and his wife, Angela.
