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(2 August 2002, Kansas) An Olathe man was struck and killed by a train
after his vehicle broke down on Interstate 35. His attempts to repair his
car had failed, so he stepped away from the busy freeway to call for help.
As luck would have it, he chose to stand on the train tracks paralleling
the road. When the train engineer spotted him standing on the tracks, the
man was holding a cell phone to one ear and cupping his hand to the other
ear to block the noise of the oncoming locomotive.
Submitted by: Sharol
Reference: Kansas City Star & TV news
Music + Trains = Bad Mix
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Authorities are at a loss as
to how to prevent train deaths. In Long Island, New York, engineers
formed a support group, as every one, without exception, has
involuntarily killed someone. The baffled engineers wonder how
anyone could be unaware that a train weighing hundreds of tons has
too much inertia to stop on a dime -- or even a football
field.
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(3 November 2006, Michigan) Death by train is almost too common to merit
a Darwin Award. Few people are unaware of the three most important facts
about trains: 1) Trains cannot stop quickly. 2) Trains cannot swerve. 3)
In any collision, the train always wins.
Forgetting these rules, a 20-year old man was walking down the railroad
tracks in Comstock Township, near Kalamazoo, Michigan. This, in and of
itself, is not even close to Darwinian stupidity. Trains are loud, and
they announce their approach from quite a distance, allowing ample time to
clear their path. However, our Darwin contender made sure the odds were in
the train's favor by wearing a pair of headphones with the music turned up
loud. Louder than the train's whistle, apparently.
The news report didn't mention what song he was listening to, but I'm
guessing it was "Don't Look Back" by Boston. Not looking back sealed his
fate. Despite several loud blasts of the horn by the train engineer, our
Darwin contender kept strolling down the rails in musical bliss, until
Amtrak removed him from the gene pool.
Reference: Kalamazoo Gazette
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