Track Supervisor Death Could’ve Been Avoided
The spot where James Knell met his untimely demise. Photo courtesy of Costanza for the New York Daily News.
Two days ago, I had to unfortunately write an entry about the death of 45 year old MTA NYC Transit Track Supervisor James Knell. His untimely demise came after he came in contact with an electrified third rail at the Beach 90th Street station which is currently under renovations.
Today’s edition of the New York Daily News has a followup report on this tragic accident which states that the death could have been avoided if MTA NYC Transit safety regulations were followed. Clare Trapasso & Pete Donohue have more:
The track supervisor who tripped and fell to his death on a third rail Monday apparently shouldn’t have been working in that morning’s wet weather, union officials said.
NYC Transit safety regulations state workers shouldn’t be near the electrified third rail if it is raining or the area is rain-slicked, as it was when track supervisor James Knell died along the Rockaway Shuttle line, according to Transport Workers Union Local 100 President John Samuelsen.
“How could this happen?” father-in-law Gregory Odette said. “They shouldn’t have been working in the rain. I don’t understand. Somebody made a mistake.”
Track workers twice were pulled from tracks during heavy rainfall before the 4:30 a.m. tragedy, sources said.
Click here for the complete report.
If things could not get any worse, this news has come out. Death of a loved one is arguably the hardest emotion to deal with. The pain & grief of this must have multiplied greatly for his loved ones after finding out it could have been avoided. I feel it is safe to assume more will be coming out about this pending the conclusion of the ongoing investigation. I will definitely be keeping an eye on this story.
xoxo Transit Blogger
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[…] A S Station in Queens. Two days after his death, a report in the New York Daily News revealed his death could have been avoided had official safety regulations been […]