Family of man hit by train suing railroad, canoe company

[The Straight Story]

Family of man hit by train suing railroad, canoe company

The family of a man who was hit by a train while jumping off a trestle into a river two years ago is suing the railroad and a local canoe center, according to documents filed in Clark County Common Pleas Court Thursday, Aug. 5.

Matthew Johnson, 21, died Aug. 10, 2008 while he and three other people were standing on a train trestle between Old Mill Road and the Masonic Temple grounds.

Johnson’s mother, Carol Johnson, of West Carrollton, has filed suit against Norfolk Southern Railway Company and Aaron’s Canoe and Kayak Center, Springfield.

Her Dayton-based attorney, Jeffrey Snead said Johnson’s was “a tragic death that could have been and should have been prevented.”

Johnson and his friends climbed the trestle in order to jump off into Mad River, according to the complaint.

As the train approached, Johnson’s friends jumped off the trestle, but he was hit by the locomotive while trying to outrun it, according to court documents.

....

The canoe company “knew or should have known that individuals frequently went onto the train trestle and jumped into the Mad River.”

http://www.springfieldnewssun.com/news/springfield-news/family-of-man-hit-by-train-suing-railroad-canoe-company-848161.html?cxtype=rss_local-news

I have played many a days on the train trestle near my house. When a train is coming, you get off of it. If you get hit by the train, it is because you were too stupid to get off the tracks. You can hear a train, and feel it, coming from a ways off.

[bbinacan]

1. Very well said. n/t

[virgogal]

2. The kid was a moron. Period.

[bbinacan]

4. Darwin Award Nominee. n/t

[LiberalFighter]

17. The mother should received that award too.

[bbinacan]

19. Agreed. n/t

[The Straight Story]

6. My mom and I were at the trestle one day, and a train came flying down the tracks

I went running off of it and down the hill, Mom stood close by the train. I told her she would be have been killed had it derailed (we have had several accidents over the years as cars tried to beat it and failed causing the train to derail). She told me (after it went by) that if she was 'squished by the damn train' it was her own damn fault but she liked standing there.

My friend scott and I played and fished there all the time. Tracy and I once rescued a dog which was too dumb to move, the train ran over it's tail and cut it off. We carried it home and got it help (it was a stray).

Scott used to climb on top and watch the train from above - stupid :) and jumped off more than a few times. For all the stupid things he did he ended dying in a car wreck on the way home from work, go figure.

[virgogal]

10. Sounds like your Mom has a bit of the daredevil in her. I was

always the timid one.

I have no train stories,but had I got in front of one and got myself killed I would hope my family would not sue anyone.

[RKP5637]

3. Too many expect others to be responsible for their own stupidity. n/t

[Liberal_in_LA]

5. ridiculous lawsuit

[Ricochet21]

11. I agree

I agree

[Nuclear Unicorn]

7. Just for argument's sake

What device could be installed that could reasonably be expected to keep a 21-year old man off the trestle while not inhibiting the train?

:shrug:

[The Straight Story]

9. A 12 pack sitting about 20' off the track

:rofl:

[LiberalFighter]

16. Especially when the property is owned and maintained by the railroad company(s).

And the railroad company in this instance shouldn't be held accountable as the boys were trespassing.

[NoPasaran]

8. “A tragic death that could have been and should have been prevented.”

Yeah, he shouldn't have been on the freaking trestle.

[d_r]

12. they probably should sue anheiser bush too

for making him drink the beer on the canoe trip.

[northernlights]

13. why not sue gawd, too?

for putting that river by the trestle so when that terrible rental canoe transported their moronic son down the river to the trestle which he was then obliged to climb and try to outrun the train...:wtf:

[Obamanaut]

14. Perhaps the parents should be named in the suit for "Failing to slap

the stupid out of him when he was younger."

[The Backlash Cometh]

15. Maybe it should be renamed Mad Cow river?

[LiberalFighter]

18. Their attorney must be fruity.

Train conductors “failed to timely and effectively stop the train,” causing Johnson’s death.

The attorney must be as loony as the boy to think that it is easy to stop a train.


The canoe company “knew or should have known that individuals frequently went onto the train trestle and jumped into the Mad River.”

It appears that the train trestle is located several properties away from the business. Nearest spot where anyone could jump into the river from the trestle is northeast of the business. About 2 miles away.

[Gaedel]

20. There ought to be ..........

1. Severe criminal penalties for persons filing a frivolous lawsuit.

2. Automatic disbarment for the lawyer taking the case.

[petronius]

21. I'm sorry for their loss, but this is ridiculous - maybe they should also sue the

maker of the car they drove to the canoe rental place, and the town/county which provided the roads to get there...

[frylock]

22. is the trestle a jump-off point for kayakers?

i'm trying to understand why the canoe and kayak center is being sued. nowhere in the article is a kayak or canoe even mentioned.

[mercuryblues]

23. A friend,

who worked for a railroad,once told me "Conductors always feel horrible when they hit a dog, deer or any animal. If they hit a person, not so much. Humans are supposed to be smart enough to not play on the tracks."

Someone needs to tell the Mother that by the time a train is close enough to see a person, it is too late for it to stop. Depending on the speed, size and cargo it can take over a mile to stop a train.