FELA Lawyer News Blog

WAYNE CITY IL – A mail carrier was killed when his vehicle collided with a Canadian National freight train in Farrington Township in Jefferson County, Illinois on Tuesday, July 27, 2010. The accident occurred at the railroad crossing on Holiday Rd. near the Papertown Ag Service plant just west of the Wayne County line and about a half-mile south of the Marion County line.

Wayne City is located in Wayne County, in central Illinois about 151 miles south of Springfield, about 223 miles south of Peoria, about 133 miles south of Decatur and about 277 miles south of Chicago.

The victim was identified as 56 year-old Phillip Beeson, from Cisne, IL, who was pronounced dead at the scene. The accident occurred at about 11:30 a.m. Tuesday morning while Beeson was on his mail route.

An article at the WJBD Radio website indicated that Jefferson County Coroner Eddie Joe Marks commented on the incident. Marks said that Beeson’s Ford Explorer was struck in the drivers side and was dragged down the tracks six-tenths of a mile. The article went on to say that the vehicle caught fire in the process and that Beeson was pinned inside.

After the vehicle was hit by the train, it burst into flames on impact and then was dragged down the tracks from the crossing at Holiday Road before coming to a stop near East Heartland Road.

No one on the train was injured and there were no passengers in Beeson’s vehicle.

After speaking with Canadian National Railroad personnel and other witnesses it was determined that Beeson was going eastbound on Holiday Road when it pulled into the path of the oncoming train. The train was moving on the tracks in a southbound direction when it collided with the vehicle. The engineer was unable stop when it struck the SUV.

Firemen from Orchardville, Webber Township, Bluford and Jefferson Rural responded to the incident to put out the fire and to help remove Beeson’s body from the demolished vehicle. Illinois State Police and Jefferson County deputies also responded to the incident. County Coroner Marks said that the cause of Beeson’s death remains under investigation.

This is a very unfortunate and tragic accident. Funeral services at Hosselton Funeral Home in Cisne are pending for Beeson. He had been delivering mail out of the Wayne City Post Office for the last 15 years.

The accident remains under investigation by the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department and coroner’s office. Sheriff Roger D. Mulch said that the railroad crossing at Holiday Rd. was clearly marked and posted with a Yield sign.

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Published by FELA lawyer Gordon, Elias & Seely, LLP

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