Fort Worth, Texas — Mohammed al-Tayyeb was killed in an accident involving a Toyota Corolla and a Trinity Railway Express train on Saturday, October 19th, 2013.
The collision occurred around 2:00 p.m. on Saturday afternoon, at the railroad crossing in the 12600 block of Calloway Cemetery Road. The driver and only occupant of the passenger vehicle, 43-year-old Mohammed al-Tayyeb, was trapped in the wreckage and died. Al-Tayyeb is survived by his wife and 12-year-old son.
There were ~150 passengers on the double-decker train, but according to Fort Worth Fire Department Battalion Chief James Barton, only one TRE passenger had immediately reported an injury.
Buses were used to shuttle the stranded TRE passengers. There were some reports that the train was derailed as a result of this accident, but a Trinity Railway Express spokesperson has said that this is not accurate.
Anytime someone is involved in an accident at a railway crossing, a portion of the public seems eager to automatically place 100% of the blame on the passenger car driver. While this is sometimes the case, there is usually much more to the story. There are a variety of factors that can come into play in a train accident.
- Were the railroad crossing warning lights & bars operating correctly?
- Did the train operator sound the horn when he or she was supposed to?
- Was the crossing unusual in appearance or confusing at all?
- Are there line-of-sight issues?
- Etc…
Until you know the full story, it is presumptuous to assume fault on the driver for an accident such as this. One of the best ways for family members to learn the full story is to have an attorney look into a case. There is no cost to speak with or hire a personal injury attorney, as cases are taken-on under a contingency fee agreement. This means your attorney only gets paid if and when he or she is able to win your case.
