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Kids Dead After Mom Tries to Skirt Train Crossing

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white_swan53 On October 07, 2020




n/a, New Mexico
#1New Post! Apr 03, 2013 @ 21:00:17
Quote:


Tara Lewman drove up to a railroad crossing in Batavia, Iowa, on Monday afternoon, and stopped because the gates were down.



https://www.newser.com/story/165602/kids-dead-after-mom-tries-to-skirt-train-crossing.html?utm_source=part&utm_medium=united&utm_campaign=rss_3_2



R.I.P. to the two little girls .

No parent should have to bury a child , much less two children.
It's beyond my power of imagination to try and guess how it would feel ,to be a parent who has had to bury two and be the cause of their deaths.

Not much can make me more angry then to hear about some one ignoring the gates at a 'RR crossing'.
With all those bells and whistlers and reflective paint and the bull horn on the oncoming train , just to mention a few of the 'signs' that tells a driver that a million tons of steel is coming along at least 35 to 40 mph ,minimum. Common sense should tell the average thinking driver that ,that million tons of steel is close to a half a mile long and can not stop or even slow down within a mile or more.
boxer On June 16, 2016

Deleted
Banned



, Zimbabwe
#2New Post! Apr 03, 2013 @ 21:58:10
We have a railroad crossing near my house, and at least three times a year someone is killed because they try to drive around the gates.

Every time there is an accident they show the pictures of the SUV that has been split in half and how half of it ended up in a tree 250 feet from the crossing, but for some reason, it does not seem to stop people from trying to beat the train.

While I'm sorry for the innocent children who were killed, a mother that would try such a thing should never have had children in the first place, because she's obviously not responsible enough.
DorkySupergirl On November 02, 2017




, Canada
#3New Post! Apr 03, 2013 @ 23:02:27
I feel like an awful human being for saying this but who the f*** does that? Are people really that stupid?

I feel so sad that two innocent little kids died and more so that this was stupidity and could have been prevented. That is what is mot tragic, to save a moment to get someplace quicker and lack of patience to wait for a train, two innocent little babies are dead. Its sad.
white_swan53 On October 07, 2020




n/a, New Mexico
#4New Post! Apr 03, 2013 @ 23:34:27
@boxer Said

We have a railroad crossing near my house, and at least three times a year someone is killed because they try to drive around the gates.

Every time there is an accident they show the pictures of the SUV that has been split in half and how half of it ended up in a tree 250 feet from the crossing, but for some reason, it does not seem to stop people from trying to beat the train.

While I'm sorry for the innocent children who were killed, a mother that would try such a thing should never have had children in the first place, because she's obviously not responsible enough.



I totally agree.
I can't bring myself to use the word 'accident' when train hits someone in between those gates .
This is a topic that 'hits close to home' for me and mine . At about the half way mark between my place and town (45 miles away) there is a RR crossing , it's out in the middle of 'no where' . There isn't a house or a building within sight of this crossing and the closest (next) town is about 15 miles away. The west bound trains are traveling down hill and hauling a** . When someone is unlucky and has lost the 'race' and gets caught in the middle, the pictures show a real long line of trash and twisted junk metal scattered down the tracks for about a mile . Very seldom is there more then a splat of blood on or around the front of the trains lead engine to show there had been a living being in the wreckage. If the loved ones are lucky the person in the car/pickup is thrown out/clear on impact. At least then there will be 'someone' in the casket when it's put in he ground. There are at least a half dozen crosses marking both the North and South sides of the crossing where families go every year and decorate in memory of their husband,son,mom, sister, etc,,,who tried to 'beat the train' .
When my kids started driving there were zillions of things my heart and mind clamped on that was beyond nerve wracking ,about the idea of my kid behind the wheel of a car/pickup 'with all the crazies' out on the roads these days...
Thanks to the powers that be, all three of them were convinced that nothing was more important or worth ignoring those gates for.
white_swan53 On October 07, 2020




n/a, New Mexico
#5New Post! Apr 03, 2013 @ 23:40:53
@DorkySupergirl Said

I feel like an awful human being for saying this but who the f*** does that? Are people really that stupid?

I feel so sad that two innocent little kids died and more so that this was stupidity and could have been prevented. That is what is mot tragic, to save a moment to get someplace quicker and lack of patience to wait for a train, two innocent little babies are dead. Its sad.



Yes.
Dark_Tink On December 30, 2018
<3 Boobie <3





, Canada
#6New Post! Apr 03, 2013 @ 23:55:11
Those poor kids. I can't imagine the mental torment the mother is going though.

I lived near tracks for many years, and there too, far too many cars would go around the arms and speed along before the freight trains would come.

A friend of the family(who shouldn't have been driving to begin with since she has tunnel vision) went over the tracks when the lights were flashing...the caution arms were no longer on, not sure why though...her car was totaled. We were flabbergasted that she was still alive.

The article in the OP was a horrific thing, but the mother brought it on herself. You don't EVER cross through those arms when flashing.(if there is a malfunction in the switch, that's a different matter, but you still have to be cautious). The parked train was blocking her line of sight, that, for me, would be enough to still NOT cross the tracks.
Electric_Banana On February 05, 2024




, New Zealand
#7New Post! Apr 04, 2013 @ 01:10:33
HA! There was a news article years ago about a mother and her two kids in TN.

The three of them were up on a hill on an ATV and the mom accidentally started it up in reverse and dropped them all hollering into a holler.

I wonder if that incident made it onto the Darwin site...

This one might.
townie_guy On May 07, 2013

Deleted



, United Kingdom
#8New Post! Apr 04, 2013 @ 12:28:21
@Electric_Banana Said

HA! There was a news article years ago about a mother and her two kids in TN.

The three of them were up on a hill on an ATV and the mom accidentally started it up in reverse and dropped them all hollering into a holler.

I wonder if that incident made it onto the Darwin site...

This one might.


I dont think this case is Darwin material itself. Its not unique enough. Plus the kids didnt actually kill themselves. The mother is responsible.
drummerwannabe On June 17, 2019
Travel Junkie





In a drum.., Minnesota
#9New Post! Apr 04, 2013 @ 15:29:56
@DorkySupergirl Said

I feel like an awful human being for saying this but who the f*** does that? Are people really that stupid?



Sad thing is people are that stupid. I live by train tracks and it doesn't happen very much. But in the big city near me, Twin Cities, lots of people try to drive around the gates for the Light Rail trains. Just a few weeks ago a guy did that and was killed. We also have pedestrians and people on bikes who try to do the same thing and they get hit.

It's like seriously, even though those Light Rail trains go slower than the Amtrak or freight trains, they still go about 45-50 miles an hour at top speed. You can't beat it. You're going to get hit. *shakes head*


To the OP, it's really sad and that woman was really stupid. Why put your kids in a situation like that? It kind of reminds me of seeing moms with strollers who are jaywalking across the street and almost get hit by a car. What makes you think it's ok to put your children's life in danger like that?
white_swan53 On October 07, 2020




n/a, New Mexico
#10New Post! Apr 04, 2013 @ 16:00:24
@drummerwannabe Said


To the OP, it's really sad and that woman was really stupid. Why put your kids in a situation like that? It kind of reminds me of seeing moms with strollers who are jaywalking across the street and almost get hit by a car. What makes you think it's ok to put your children's life in danger like that?



That parent went above and beyond , the extra mile, she is a perfect candidate for 'the irresponsible, clueless, brain dead parent of the year' poster child . As a parent I do know first hand what it takes to bury a child of my own with no part of her death being caused by any of my actions / decisions ,what I can not imagine ,is what life would be like for a parent that has caused the needless and avoidable death of two of their own children thru their own actions / decisions.



.
DorkySupergirl On November 02, 2017




, Canada
#11New Post! Apr 04, 2013 @ 19:22:44
@drummerwannabe Said

Sad thing is people are that stupid. I live by train tracks and it doesn't happen very much. But in the big city near me, Twin Cities, lots of people try to drive around the gates for the Light Rail trains. Just a few weeks ago a guy did that and was killed. We also have pedestrians and people on bikes who try to do the same thing and they get hit.

It's like seriously, even though those Light Rail trains go slower than the Amtrak or freight trains, they still go about 45-50 miles an hour at top speed. You can't beat it. You're going to get hit. *shakes head*


To the OP, it's really sad and that woman was really stupid. Why put your kids in a situation like that? It kind of reminds me of seeing moms with strollers who are jaywalking across the street and almost get hit by a car. What makes you think it's ok to put your children's life in danger like that?


I once saw a woman I assume was the mother of the child, push a baby stroller and stop to text on her phone. This was at a very busy street and the stroller started to come into traffic.

People really need to pay better attention and stop doing stupid s*** that causes harm to come to children. Too many avoidable deaths. Its such a shame.

@white_swan53 Said

That parent went above and beyond , the extra mile, she is a perfect candidate for 'the irresponsible, clueless, brain dead parent of the year' poster child . As a parent I do know first hand what it takes to bury a child of my own with no part of her death being caused by any of my actions / decisions ,what I can not imagine ,is what life would be like for a parent that has caused the needless and avoidable death of two of their own children thru their own actions / decisions.



.


I was just going to say, I can only imagine the pain in losing a child. Parents are not meant to bury their kids. My aunt was never the same after my cousin died. She became a zombie of her former self. But to know that the parent was to blame, I can only imagine her heart breaks even more knowing she killed her kids to save a 2 minute wait for a train.

Part of me feels so bad for this woman and the other part just wants to scream, you moron but her inner pain is much more than the words of anger anyone could ever tell her.
white_swan53 On October 07, 2020




n/a, New Mexico
#12New Post! Apr 05, 2013 @ 02:43:16
@DorkySupergirl Said



Part of me feels so bad for this woman and the other part just wants to scream, you moron but her inner pain is much more than the words of anger anyone could ever tell her.



This is a very good way to describe the most common initial reaction to this story.
Then on second thoughts out comes the reasons behind the more detailed angry opinions and comments.
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