A 56-year-old Olds man was killed after driving into the path of an oncoming train in Olds on Tuesday morning.
The collision occurred at around 7:20 a.m. in Olds when a northbound freight train collided with a westbound pickup truck near the intersection of Hwy 27 and 50 Street in Olds.
The man has been identified as Brian Eugene Pearson. He was the lone occupant in the vehicle and was wearing a seatbelt at the time of the crash.
Olds RCMP Cpl. Troy Byrt there is no indication that the man went around the crossing arm, which was sheared off, but it appeared as if he drove right through it and then was struck by the train.
“Based on our investigation up to this point it appears that the crossing arm and the lights were functioning properly. All indications are at this point that he just drove through the crossing arm and then was struck by the train,” Byrt said. The man was pronounced dead on the scene.
Byrt said road conditions and visibility don’t appear to have been factors in the collision. Alcohol was not a factor either. Olds RCMP are continuing their investigation into the collision.
Kevin Hrysak, a spokesperson with CPR, said the train crew followed all of the proper procedures, sounding their whistles as they came close to the crossing. He said the arms came down at the crossing and the lights and bells were working at the time of crash.
Hrysak said it is exceedingly rare for something like this to happen, but when it does it is extremely hard on the CPR rail crew because they are always the first on the scene. He said the crew has been relieved of duty and offered critical stress counselling.
Byrt said in the six years he has been stationed in Olds with the RCMP there have been between three to five collisions involving trains in the community. He said there are three crossings in town within an eight-block radius as the train goes through town.
Across Alberta, the number of accidents at crossings from January to May of 2010 was 13, with four fatalities and one serious injury, according to statistics kept by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada. In 2009, there were 14 accidents at train crossings, one fatality and three serious injuries involving trains at crossings.
The number of accidents between January and May of 2010 across Canada involving trains at crossings was 68, with 11 fatalities and four serious injuries during that time period. In 2009, there were 86 accidents, 10 fatalities and 12 serious injuries at train crossings across Canada.
John Cottreau, a spokesperson for the Transportation Safety Board of Canada, said they receive 4,000 reports a year relating to crashes involving trains, airplanes and marine vessels.
“So our mandate given to us by Parliament was to investigate selected accidents,” Cottreau said. “What (investigators) do is they select them based on whether we haven’t seen it before and whether there is something to learn by doing an investigation instead of wasting money re-inventing the wheel.”
He said investigators will determine in the next 24 to 72 hours how to proceed. It could be a matter of collecting data because the contributing factors are already well-known and understood and an investigation wouldn’t serve a useful purpose or they could determine that this is something that bears closer scrutiny, Cottreau said.
Hrysak encouraged people to stay safe around CPR crossings and property and asked people to heed all warnings.
sobrien@www.reddeeradvocate.com