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Darwin Awards
2010 Slush Pile

This item was recently submitted by a reader.
Should I include it in the archive?
Vote to tell me what *you* think!

Car Turns onto Tracks

2010 Reader Submission
Pending Acceptance

Parsippany, NJ: Driver whose

car was struck by NJ Transit

train claims GPS unit led him

to Mount Tabor crossing

BY TEHANI SCHNEIDER • STAFF WRITER •

October 29, 2010

PARSIPPANY--An Arizona man whose vehicle was

struck by a train after getting stuck on tracks in

Mount Tabor early Thursday told a 911 operator his

GPS unit led him to the crossing, officials said.

Said Shareef, 51, of Ganado, Ariz., was driving a

2008 silver Toyota Camry northbound on Powder

Mill Road at 5:54 a.m. when he got struck on the

tracks at the Powder Mill crossing, said NJ Transit

spokesman Dan Stessel.

"Based on what the GPS told him, he made a right

turn onto the crossing and after doing so, the car

got stuck,'' said Stessel.

Shareef called 911 and followed the dispatcher's

instructions to exit the car before the Camry was

struck by the Hoboken-bound train, Stessel said.

The train had just left the Denville station when the

crash occurred.

"The train's engineer did see the vehicle on the

tracks, at which time, he placed the train into

emergency braking but still was unable to stop in

time,'' Stessel said. "It was foggy as he was

approaching the crossing.''

The Camry, which was totaled, came to rest about 25

feet from the crossing but ended up blocking both

tracks.

No one was injured in the crash, which caused

significant delays for commuters on the Morris- Essex Line as crews worked to remove the car and

clear the tracks.

The train, no. 608, had departed Dover at 5:43 a.m.

and was scheduled to reach Hoboken at 7:07 a.m. It

was delayed 55 minutes and sustained minor

damage in the crash but remained operable.

Other trains on the Morris-Essex line were delayed

between 20 to 30 minutes before services resumed

normal schedule around 9:30 a.m., NJ Transit

officials said.

It was unclear if Shareef was driving a rented car or

where he was headed at the time of the incident. He

was charged with two summonses for careless

driving and interfering with transportation.

Stessel said it was unclear if fog was a factor in

Shareef's decision to turn onto the rail crossing,

despite the instructions of his GPS unit. Crashes

blamed on GPS units have occurred with other trains

but not with NJ Transit, he said.

"We've heard of incidents like happening on other

railroads but with GPS becoming more ubiquitous,

it's important for drivers to be aware of what they're

turning on to and to be particularly careful with

relying on GPS around railroad tracks,'' Stessel said.

The driver, however, was wise to vacate his vehicle

immediately, Stessel said. Shareef apparently called

911 from within the car but made it out safely before

the impact.

"If that ever happens to you, you want to make sure

you exit the vehicle immediately and stand away

from the car,'' Stessel said.

link can be found at http://www.dailyrecord.com/apps/pbcs.dll/artikkel?NoCache=1&Dato=20101029&Kategori=UPDATES01&Lopenr=101029031&Ref=AR

Submitted on 10/29/2010

Submitted by: Andy S
Reference: Daily Record - 10/29/10

Copyright © 2010 DarwinAwards.com

>> Moderator Scores <<

Bruce said:
Definitely Toss: Lacks Excellence
Thanks, Andy, but we get lots of stories involving people blindly following their GPS's as well as people, cars, ATV's, etc. getting struck by trains. We've also received at least one story in the past that was virtually identical to this submission.


Candi said:
Definitely Toss: Lacks Excellence
What Bruce said.


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