BY JANICE MORSE
The Cincinnati Enquirer
HAMILTON -- The accident that nearly killed a pair of just-engaged Butler County teens as they strolled along railroad tracks Monday is a symptom of a growing national problem.
RAILROAD SAFETY
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 Train-pedestrian fatalities rose to 529 nationally in 1997, exceeding the 445 fatalities caused in train-motorist crashes.
In the Tristate, 18 pedestrians died in Ohio train crashes; 17 in Kentucky; nine in Indiana. An additional 12 people in Ohio committed suicide by putting themselves in trains' paths.
About once every 100 minutes, a train collides with a vehicle or a pedestrian somewhere in the United States.
Railroad tracks, trestles, yards and equipment are private property, and trespassers are subject to arrest and fines.
A motorist is 40 times more likely to die in a crash involving a train than with another motor vehicle.
Trains cannot stop quickly. After fully applying the brakes, a 100-car freight train traveling 55 mph on a dry, level track takes at least a mile to stop.
Source: Operation Lifesaver Inc.'s Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky offices; Federal Railroad Administration
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In 1997, for the first time, train-pedestrian deaths outnumbered train-motorist deaths, according to Operation Lifesaver, a Virginia-based railroad safety group.
"I think everybody has done it -- walked along railroad tracks -- as a kid. That's why we're working hard to get out the message that it's dangerous, deadly and illegal," said Donald G. Slemmer, coordinator of Operation Lifesaver in Ohio. "Most people don't understand that railroad property is private property and being on it is trespassing."
Until a train struck Brett Lay -- and he was charged with criminal trespassing -- he and his fiancee, Mandy Cook, didn't know walking along railroad tracks was against the law, said Brett's mother, Dinna Seward of Trenton. Brett had proposed to Mandy just hours earlier.
Listed in fair condition at Fort Hamilton-Hughes Memorial Hospital with a gaping leg wound, Brett learned Wednesday that he needs reconstructive surgery on his left hand, which was crushed in the accident, Ms. Seward said.
She thinks the pair of 17-year-olds are suffering enough for their mistake and shouldn't have to face criminal charges. But Mr. Slemmer says that's precisely what's needed to reduce fatalities along railroad tracks.
"We want the police to take a hard-nosed enforcement stance," he said. "We have a saying we want people to learn: You have to obey the laws of Ohio and you also have to obey the laws of physics. You cannot compete with something that big."
The average train weighs 20 million pounds and can take 1.5 miles to stop, said Susan M. Terpay, spokeswoman for Norfolk Southern Corp. A train from that company struck Brett after he pushed his fiancee out of harm's way as they were walking along a trestle. Ms. Terpay declined to comment on that accident, but noted that trains are often wider than the tracks they're on.
Last year, 18 pedestrians died in Ohio train accidents, while nine died in Indiana and 17 died in Kentucky -- nearly double the eight fatalities recorded in the Bluegrass State in 1996. Nationally, 529 pedestrians died on railways, exceeding the 445 motorists killed in collisions with trains, Operation Lifesaver says.
Safety advocates were unable to pinpoint causes of the rise in train-pedestrian fatalities. But they note that people often use railroad tracks as a convenient but dangerous shortcut.
Mandy and Brett, for instance, said they were heading toward a trail in a wooded area when the train startled them as it rounded a bend.
Unless trains sound their horns, they can be hard to hear until they're very close, said Tom Kinser of Indiana's Operation Lifesaver. The group, which will hold its national symposium in Indianapolis next week, is working on new ways to combat the problem.
Mr. Kinser listed a variety of circumstances surrounding pedestrian deaths. During each of the past five years, at least one person died in Indiana while fishing off a railroad trestle, he said.
Some victims were elderly and couldn't hear or see the train. Others were unaware, because they were listening to music on headphones as they walked or jogged. Others were drunk.
Some young people have actually played "chicken" with trains -- taking a dare to stand on the tracks and get away at the last moment. Earlier this year, a teen in the Cleveland area was killed doing that, Mr. Slemmer said.
"People can't judge the size and speed of a train like they think they can."
