Tribune-Review
NORTH VERSAILLES, Pa. — The death of a Youngwood volunteer fireman who was hit by a train in Allegheny County last month while searching for a missing woman has been ruled accidental by the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office.
A spokesman for Dr. Karl Williams said there are no plans to hold an inquest into the accident that killed Edwin “Lance” Wentzel, 57.
Wentzel was part of a team searching for Ann Mullennix, 55, of Wilmerding, who disappeared March 17 and has not been found.
As a Norfolk Southern train approached the area where Wentzel was searching, another train came up behind Wentzel.
Wentzel was walking along a narrow corridor between two sets of railroad tracks in North Versailles when he was struck.
The search had started, then stopped and then resumed, but Norfolk Southern officials said they did not know crews had resumed their search for a missing woman along railroad tracks in North Versailles beneath the Westinghouse Bridge.
David Pidgeon, a railroad spokesman, declined to say whether Norfolk Southern has been able to determine why it was not notified that the search for Mullenix had resumed. He declined to reveal the speed the train was traveling.
“There’s really not a whole lot I’m able to say,” he said.
Youngwood fire Chief Lloyd Crago, whose department’s search-and-rescue dog team was assisting in the effort, said someone told the railroad firefighters would be working beneath the Westinghouse Bridge. Crago said he talked to a police officer who said he would relay word to Norfolk Southern.
“Maybe I took it for granted that he would call Norfolk Southern. He said, ‘I’ll call the rail yard,’” Crago said. “Somebody knew we were there. I talked to Northfolk Southern and they told me we’re trying to find the glitch in our system.”
Crago said he had reviewed police reports on the incident and expected the accidental ruling.
“I witnessed everything,” Crago said. “I knew what happened. It was a tragic accident. It was truly an accident. It was nobody’s fault.”
Crago expected federal investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board or the Federal Railroad Administration to contact him as part of a federal investigation but no one has called.
“I was prepared to hear from everybody,” he said. “I was prepared for everything, but I haven’t heard anything.”
The NTSB, which has authority to investigate railroad accidents, referred questions to the Federal Railroad Administration.
The board in March investigated the death of an electrician killed when he was struck by a train while restoring power to the tracks. The month before, the NTSB investigated an accident, which killed one member of a film crew and injured six others in Jesup, Ga.
The Federal Railroad Administration said it investigates “select railroad accidents” when changes are needed in safety standards or operating rules. It investigates about 100 accidents annually. There is an average of 400 deaths a year from trespassing-related incidents, according to the organization.
Spokesman Warren Faltau said Wentzel’s death was considered a “trespassing event and underscores a need for coordination” since Norfolk Southern was not notified that the search had been resumed. In most states, it is illegal for people to be on railroad property or rights of way without permission. Pennsylvania, however, doesn’t have any law that specifically targets railroad property, according to the FRA.
Copyright 2014 Tribune-Review
All Rights Reserved