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Deadly Railroad Crossings

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By BUDDY JAUDON, The Tampa Tribune

Published: October 6, 2007

Updated: 10/04/2007 07:23 pm

A National Transportation Safety Board inquiry into the deadly train-pickup crash that killed 10 people Oct. 2, 1977, underscores the danger of area railroad crossings and called for corrective action and the installation of safety gates, lights and reflectors at the state's most vulnerable corridor.

According to the NTSB's 1978 report, the Jacksonville to Tampa high-speed train corridor traverses 240 miles of track with 271 crossings - more than one per mile.

There is about one crossing accident per 100 miles of track for the entire Amtrak system. The accident rate is nearly seven times higher for the Jacksonville-Tampa corridor.

Although Amtrak operates in 46 states, nearly one-fifth of all crossing accidents occurred in that corridor during 1975, 1976 and 1977.

The Turkey Creek Road crossing was deemed in 1977 to be treated as 'a first priority' for the installation of gates and cantilever lights.

At the time of the accident on Oct. 2, 1977, there were no railroad warning markings on the pavement on Turkey Creek Road.

The advance warning sign for northbound traffic was installed 202 feet south of the crossing, rather than the 250 feet required in an urban environment.

Many improvements have been made since the 1960s and '70s. But travelers beware: People are still dying on local tracks.

Railroad crossing accidents with multiple fatalities have become a thing of the past in Hillsborough County, but fatal crossing accidents with two or fewer fatalities have not. Since 1980, there have been 38 fatal railroad crossing accidents in Hillsborough, taking 44 lives.

Multiple Fatality Crossing Accidents In Hillsborough County

March 22, 1960 - A mother and her three children are killed when their car is hit by a train at a crossing on Wiggins Road two miles east of Plant City.

March 9, 1961 - A man, woman and 18-month-old child are killed at a private crossing east of Plant City when their car crashes into a train.

Feb. 26, 1968 - A young couple and an infant they are babysitting are killed at a crossing on Forbes Road west of Plant City when their car drives into the path of a train.

Nov. 26, 1970 - Four women are killed and an 18-year-old man critically injured when their car crashes into the side of a passenger train at the Alexander Street crossing in Plant City.

Dec. 9, 1972 - Four persons, including two children, are killed instantly and a fifth dies the next day after their car crashes into a train at a crossing on Symmes Road near U.S. 41.

March 25, 1973 - Three people, including a 7-year-old child, are killed when their car stops on a crossing in Lutz and is struck by a train.

Aug. 17, 1974 - An accident at a crossing on Gallagher Road in Dover kills two adults and two children. The four were on their way to a political gathering at Dover District Park.

Oct. 2, 1977 - Six adults and four children are killed when their pickup is broad-sided at the crossing at Turkey Creek Road and State Road 574.

Source: Tribune research

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