Light-rail train strikes, kills pedestrian in Tempe
SourceLight-rail train strikes, kills pedestrian in Tempe
By D.S. Woodfill The Arizona Republic-12 News Breaking News Team Fri Jul 26, 2013 2:30 PM
The last 2 1/2 miles of light-rail line in the East Valley has been shut down due to a fatal accident Friday involving a pedestrian.
Dispatchers reported an accident of a train striking a pedestrian at 12:50 p.m. At 1:10 p.m. transit officials had announced service was suspended between McClintock Drive in Tempe and Sycamore in Mesa.
Valley Metro spokeswoman Susan Tierney said the incident occurred along the light rail tracks near McClintock Drive and Apache Boulevard in Tempe.
Tierney said bus service will replace light rail between Sycamore Drive and Priest Drive.
Tierney advised light-rail passengers to look for bus service to connect them to the areas normally served by light-rail service. The buses will have “Bus Rail Bridge” in the head sign above the windshield, she said.
The bus bridge will follow the light-rail line between Priest Drive to Washington Street, she said.
The buses will continue on University Drive just north of Apache Drive to serve all stations east of University Drive and Rural Road. Buses will use Dobson Road to connect to the Sycamore Transit Center. The bus bridge will travel both eastbound and westbound.
Information about the length of the service suspension is forthcoming as details about the incident are still being provided to Valley Metro. Passengers can check for updates on Twitter @InsideMETROlightrail.
Body parts spread over 5 miles of light rail track??
Source
Pedestrian killed in incident with light-rail train in East Valley
By Sean Holstege, Erin O'Connor and Cecilia Chan The Arizona Republic-12 News Breaking News Team Fri Jul 26, 2013 9:07 PM
The last 2 1/2 miles of light-rail line in the East Valley was shut down Friday after a pedestrian was dragged and killed, the first fatality since light rail began operating in 2008, officials said.
Someone called police because he or she noticed a body on the light rail about 12:40 p.m.
At 1:10 p.m. transit officials had announced service was suspended between Sycamore Drive in Mesa and Priest Drive in Tempe.
By the time the light rail stopped at the Priest Drive station in Tempe, only the body’s upper torso was with the train, said Detective Steve Berry of the Mesa Police Department. The incident appears to have started at the Sycamore Drive stop in Mesa.
The Mesa Police Department will investigate the death and officers are looking for evidence along the light rail to determine what happened, Berry said. Officers are picking up clothing and the rest of the body along the track.
It’s too early in the investigation to determine what lead up to incident. Detectives are checking the cameras from the light-rail stations and the train itself to try and determine what happened.
Valley Metro spokeswoman Susan Tierney said the incident occurred along the light-rail tracks near McClintock Drive and Apache Boulevard in Tempe.
Immediate details of the crash are unknown, but Metro trains were specifically designed to prevent fatalities when trains strike pedestrians. Nationally, pedestrians are often killed when they get trapped in the wheels of a train. Metro added a skirt to the bottom of the vehicles to push pedestrians off to the side rather than under the chassis.
Since Metro opened in late 2008, it has logged at least 152 collisions. None were fatal, until Friday.
Nationally, there were 78 fatalities on light-rail systems in the last five years for which data is available, ending with 2011, according to the Federal Transit Administration.
Hillary Foose, a spokeswoman for Valley Metro, said the light-rail operator has driven the trains since it first opened and has never had any accidents. The driver has told police she will cooperate with the investigation. She was placed on paid administrative leave and was drug and alcohol tested, Foose said.
Mesa Councilman Dennis Kavanaugh said Friday afternoon that it appeared the pedestrian played a role in his own death.
“From what I hear the light rail train did not strike the person,” Kavanaugh said in an e-mail. “The person allegedly was climbing in and around and between the light rail cars at Sycamore station. The train took off and him with it, presumably crushing him and dragging the body for some time until it disengaged from the train.”
Light-rail service has been fully restored between the Sycamore and Priest stations as of 6 p.m.
Valley Metro suspended light-rail activity shortly after the incident was reported and diverted passengers to a “Bus Rail Bridge,” Tierney said.
Details about the incident are still being provided to Valley Metro.
[I took all the articles on this gruesome lightrail accident and put them at this URL]
Body parts spread over 5 miles of light rail track??
In this photo you can see two parts of the guys body (Wade L. Stokley) who was sliced and diced by a Valley Metro light rail train.
Man killed by light-rail train car in Mesa identified
Source
Man killed by light-rail train car in Mesa identified
By David Woodfill The Arizona Republic-12 News Breaking News Team Sat Jul 27, 2013 11:50 AM
Police identified the victim in the Valley’s first fatal light-rail incident.
Wade L. Stokley, a 28-year-old transient, was cut in half and carried from the end of the line in Mesa, police said.
Someone spotted Stokley’s body on the tracks sometime before 12:40 p.m. Ten minutes later dispatchers reported a train striking a pedestrian. Police started shutting down the last 2 1/2 miles of the track east of Priest Drive as they investigated and began cleaning up bits of the body and clothing.
Valley Metro spokeswoman Susan Tierney said the incident occurred along the Apache Boulevard tracks near McClintock Drive.
Mesa police believe the grisly scene began at Sycamore Station, at the end of the line. One initial account suggested the pedestrian somehow got trapped or pinched between the two cars of the train. As the train pulled into Priest Drive station in Tempe, only the body’s upper torso was with the train, said Mesa Police Detective Steve Berry.
Police spokesman Steve Berry said Saturday morning in a written statement that it still is unclear how the accident happened.
“The detective on the case indicated that no cause for the incident has been determined at this time. The investigation is on going,” he said.
Police said they notified Stokley’s next of kin.
Until Friday’s incident, there had been no fatalities caused by the 20-mile light rail system since it opened in late 2008.
Republic reporters Sean Holstege and Erin O’Connor contributed to this article.