Norfolk Southern Employee Dies as Yet Another Train Crashes in Ohio
One person is dead after Ohio’s sixth incident involving a Norfolk Southern train in the past five months.
A Norfolk Southern train and a dump truck collided Tuesday morning on the property of Cleveland-Cliffs Cleveland Works, a steel mill in Cleveland, according to WKYC.
A Cleveland-Cliffs representative said the incident happened on the Norfolk Southern rail line that runs through the property. The incident took place less than 100 miles from East Palestine, where a derailment last month led to a major health emergency for the surrounding community.
“As a result of the collision, a Norfolk Southern employee lost his life. The location is being controlled by Cleveland police and Norfolk Southern,” the Cleveland-Cliffs representative said.
The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office said the victim was Louis Shuster of Broadview Heights.
The railroad identified Shuster as a conductor.
Cleveland police were investigating the accident.
“At this time, officials are reporting that the conductor was struck by a dump truck as a Norfolk Southern train was moving through a crossing at the facility,” Norfolk Southern said in a statement.
“Norfolk Southern has been in touch with the conductor’s family and will do all it can to support them and his colleagues. We are grieving the loss of a colleague today. Our hearts go out to his loved ones during this extremely difficult time,” the statement continued.
According to WJW, five previous accidents involving a Norfolk Southern train took place in Ohio since October.
On March 4, roughly 20 cars of a 212-car freight train derailed in Springfield Township in Clark County.
Of the cars that derailed four tankers were “identified with non-hazardous materials — two tankers contained residual amounts of Diesel Exhaust Fluid and the other two tankers contained residual amounts of Polyacrylamide Water Solution” Clark County posted on Facebook.
“The Springfield Twp. Fire Department responded to the scene and immediately deployed the Clark County Hazmat team to identify the scope of the incident out of an abundance of caution. There is no indication of any injuries or risk to public health at this time,” the post said.
BREAKING: “Massive” train derailment in Springfield, OH. Reports of hazmat crews being dispatched, residents told to shelter in place.
pic.twitter.com/LnE1uqCY2T— Charlie Kirk (@charliekirk11) March 5, 2023
That crash came about a month after the Feb. 3 derailment in East Palestine, Ohio, that led to a burn-off of toxic substances on the train and a resulting concern over public health due to the residual effects of the spill and the fire, which sent a toxic cloud over the town.
The two 2023 derailments followed three near the end of 2022, WJW reported.
On Nov. 6, a Norfolk Southern train carrying trash derailed near Steubenville. Containers that were part of the train fell into and around the Ohio River there.
A Nov. 1 derailment near Ravenna impacted a train carrying salt and other materials, none of which were considered hazardous.
On Oct. 8, 10 cars that were part of a 100-car freight train derailed in Sandusky, with the major impact being a blackout due to the destruction of power lines and poles caused by the derailment. The cars were carrying wax.
On Monday, Norfolk Southern released a plan it said would improve safety, according to WKYC. The plan largely relies upon technology to alert officials when a train could have a defect that might spell trouble.
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