10:16 PM: Seattle Fire and Police are on the way to what’s described by dispatchers as a “rollover” crash on the railroad tracks in the 3800 block of West Marginal Way [map] Updates to come.
10:20 PM: Firefighters arriving at the scene report everyone’s out of the vehicle, no major injuries, so the response is being downsized. Now the challenge is to notify BNSF that there’s a vehicle on the tracks.
Who is responsible for cleaning up the debris from this accident? There is a lot of car pieces, glass, tire, springs and even brake pads.
Normally it’s left to the tow truck driver to clean up. Don’t know if they’re actually required to do so.
The part about it being a challenge to contact the railroad is surprising and concerning. Surely there is an emergency contact for the RR available 24/7 specifically for these types of police/fire incidents.
The challenge with notification is time. There is a unified nationwide emergency contact number/call center for BNSF (and most railroads) but the problem is it is usually located in another part of the country. Takes time to call, validate who is calling, where they are referring to, verify whose rails the issue is on, and then make contact with the regional dispatcher to contact the impacted trains. The issue last night was that at the same time as the incident, two engines were heading south on the tracks at the Chelan Cafe. Not much time to make contact and complete that notification process. Fortunately, the engines weren’t moving too fast, and SFD was able to signal the trains “in person” about the issue on the tracks, and they were able to stop in front of the Old Mill
Sadly I witnessed events leading to this crash. After moving to right lane, the 2 involved cars came up behind me hot, one boxing the other in. The one behind me rode my bumper so close I could not even see the headlights. After a mile of the box in and tailgating, the one behind me made a passing move into oncoming lanes and race ensued. 10 seconds later I see the debris including an entire wheel. I asked male driver if he was ok as he got out, but didn’t see the other car that had flipped. I had a gut feeling it was going to end badly, but relieved nobody was killed.
Sorry, comment time is over.
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