FELA Lawyer News Blog

WALNUT CREEK, CA – Two railroad workers were killed in a BART train accident in Walnut Creek, CA on October 19, while doing track inspection. Walnut Creek is located in Contra Costa County, California in the central part of the state about 25 miles northeast of San Francisco.

Photo of BART train accident that killed two railroad workers in Walnut Creek, CA on Oct. 19, 2013.

The accident occurred on Saturday afternoon at 1:53 p.m. on October 19 near Jones Rd and Chandon Ct on the Pittsburg/Bay Point line that runs between the Pleasant Hill station and the Walnut Creek station.

Map shows location of fatal BART train accident that killed two railroad workers near Jones Rd and Chandon Ct in Walnut Creek, CA on October 19, 2013.

One of the victims worked for the railroad company (the Bay Area Rapid Transit District) and the other was a contractor. The out of service train was out of Concord, CA on its way to Richmond, CA for maintenance (grafitti removal) and was passing through Walnut Creek when the accident occurred.

Both victims were experienced working around moving trains and were doing track inspection at the time. There was a Union strike at the time and the train was being operated by supervisory personnel.

According to an article appearing in the Contra Costa Times website (http://www.insidebayarea.com/breaking-news/ci_24345865/bart-train-strikes-two-people-near-walnut-creek) there was an announcement on the train that there were no personnel adjacent to the tracks. However, within seconds, a second voice announced that there were personnel adjacent to the tracks, but it appears that the warning came too late.

The accident is currently under investigation.

Blog post by Gordon, Elias & Seely, a FELA lawyer and California railroad injury lawyer who publishes train accidents and FELA legal news from across the United States.

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