PITTSBURGH — The engineer and conductor of a Norfolk Southern train derailed by a rockslide last year are suing the railroad, arguing the railroad’s negligence led to the accident.
The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports engineer Matthew Marchionda and conductor Edward Mansfield were the crew of the train en route from Chicago to New Jersey when it struck the slide in the Pittsburgh suburb of Baldwin, Pa., about 4:05 a.m. on Dec. 12, 2021, derailing two locomotives and five cars. The train was going about 40 mph. One of the locomotives involved was the Southern Railway heritage unit, ES44AC No. 8099 [see “NS derailment damages Southern Railway heritage unit,” Trains News Wire, Dec. 13, 2021].
The suit says Mansfield suffered a head injury, concussion, other injuries, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Marchionda suffered a head injury, concussion, internal, and spinal injuries. It argues that the rockslide resulted from factors including the railroad’s failure to properly inspect the track or install protective fencing and its failure to instruct crews to operate at a reduced speed because of dangerous conditions.
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