Train Collides with Car in Chico
A train collision took place with a woman’s car in the middle of the night after the woman crashed into several objects and stopped on the tracks. The train collided with the car at 2:30 am on Monday, June 19, 2017.
What Happened?
The driver of the vehicle was identified by the California Highway Patrol as 25-year-old Haley Dora Davis from Durham, California. Haley was driving her car westbound on East Avenue in Chico at an unknown speed when her vehicle, a recent model Chevrolet, hit the edge of a curb. This caused her car to lose control, leave the road and hit a power line pole. After hitting the pole she careened into a metal fence and hit many camper shells that were just behind the fence. The vehicle came to a stop partially across the railroad tracks.
The 2015 Chevrolet Equinox caught fire while on the tracks. Haley Davis was unable to exit the vehicle before a locomotive belonging to the Union Pacific Railroad collided with the section of the car that was resting on the tracks. Haley was thrown from the vehicle as a result of the impact. She was transported with traumatic injuries to a Medical Center in Chico. The crash is still under investigation. Authorities have the task of determining if alcohol or drugs played a part in the events leading up to the collision. Sometimes accidents like this are the result of distracted driving. Another scenario may include suffering a medical emergency while driving. It is important to contact an experienced personal injury lawyer if you have been injured in a crash and liability is an issue.
How did this Happen?
When traveling at 45 miles per hour, coming in contact with a large change in surface height such as a curb or pothole can cause one to lose control of the vehicle or an over correction. This will also cause the vehicle’s trajectory to be harder to handle. It is unclear what caused Haley Davis to depart the westbound lanes and hit the curb but the situation escalated out of control after that event.
Train Accidents
Train accidents can be deadly. Locomotive engines alone, without the freight cars they pull, can weigh around 423,000 to 432,000 pounds. That is more than one hundred times the weight of the Chevrolet Equinox involved in the accident. The speed limits of trains going through the city of Chico can be up to 70 miles an hour. It is estimated that an average freight train traveling at 55 miles per hour could take about 1,800 yards to stop, or 18 football fields, which is more than a mile. There is no way that a train would be able to stop if the engineer sees an accident or obstruction ahead unless warned beforehand.
If you find yourself stalled across railroad tracks for any reason, make sure you exit the vehicle immediately and call the authorities for assistance. They can contact the train company and notify any engineers that may be headed for your location. Drugs and alcohol can severely decrease your reaction time in emergency situations, impair vision and depth perception, and decrease muscle coordination to the point that even unbuckling a seatbelt in times of stress may become difficult.
Chico Train Accident & Personal Injury Lawyer
I’m Ed Smith, a Chico Personal Injury Lawyer. If you or a member of your family have received serious injuries because of any accident, give me a call at 530-392-9400 for friendly and free advice. Or, please call free of charge at 800-404-5400.
I have helped individuals and families from Chico with their personal injury and motor vehicle accident cases for nearly 35 years.
Reviews from my past clients are found here:
I am a listed member of the Forum for Million Dollar Advocates. This forum contains the highest ranked trial lawyers from the United States that have won million dollar case settlements and verdicts.
Our injury lawyers invite you to browse our Previous Verdicts and Settlements page.
I am also the creator of AutoAccident.com, one of Northern California’s most informative websites for personal injuries and auto accidents.
Image Source: By Kelisi – Own work – Wikimedia Commons.
Source of Train Collides with Car in Chico ~
http://www.chicoer.com/general-news/20170619/driver-hits-pole-fence-and-campers-then-is-hit-by-train
http://www.krcrtv.com/news/local/butte/person-thrown-from-car-hit-by-train/550903905
http://www.treatment4addiction.com/drugs/depressants/alcohol/
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