Connecticut railroads and others have line workers whose job it is to maintain the tracks. Often, these workers report for duty at night or in other down times when trains are not active on the tracks where they’re working. Some assignments, such as one that two workers were recently taking care of in another state, necessitate line workers entering tunnels, which sometimes leads to railroad accidents. In this particular instance, the two workers had no idea that a tragedy was about to occur.
Local trains, as well as those that travel from one end of the nation to the other, are run by strict protocol that is meant to keep workers and passengers safe. If a job requires a worker to enter a tunnel, there is typically a system in place to prevent trains from entering until the workers have safely exited. Something went terribly wrong the day the two co-workers were doing their job; a train not only entered the tunnel, but hit both men, pinning them up against the tunnel wall.
Both men were rushed to a nearby hospital. Sadly, one of them was unable to survive his injuries. The other man suffered injuries to his ribs and is reportedly recovering in the hospital. It was not the first time that line workers in that particular area have been suffered fatal injuries on the job.
One can only imagine the devastating effect Connecticut railroad accidents have on the families and co-workers of accident victims. When employer negligence is believed to be responsible for a worker’s injuries, families may experience frustration and anger in addition to grief and sorrow, especially upon learning that a particular incident was preventable. Thankfully, there are support networks in place to help recovering workers or families of deceased workers to seek recovery for their losses.