Butler County train conductor suing Norfolk Southern Railway
A Cranberry Township man who was the conductor of the Norfolk Southern Railway train that derailed after hitting a rock slide in Allegheny County in December is suing the company.
Edward Mansfield, the conductor, and engineer Matthew Marchionda, of Ambridge, are seeking more than $150,000 each in the suit that alleges Norfolk Southern was negligent by not inspecting the railroad tracks where the crash occurred, not installing fencing to keep rocks off the tracks and not warning them about the dangerous and unsafe condition of the tracks.
At 4:05 a.m. Dec. 12, Mansfield and Marchionda were driving the train, which had two locomotives and more than 100 cars, from Chicago, Ill., to New Jersey.
The train was traveling about 40 miles per hour on tracks along Route 837 in Baldwin between Becks Run Road and the Glenwood Bridge when Mansfield saw an “enormous” rock slide on the track about one-eighth of a mile away, according to the suit.
Heavy winds and rain caused a large pile of rocks and boulders to slide onto the tracks, according to the suit.
Mansfield said he immediately yelled for Marchionda to apply the brakes, and, although the train was placed in “emergency,” it struck the slide while still traveling about 40 miles per hour, according to the suit.
Two locomotives, including the one Mansfield and Marchionda were in, and five cars derailed. Their locomotive was thrown to the side, according to the suit.
Both plaintiffs said they suffered serious and permanent injuries in the derailment. Mansfield said he sustained a head injury, traumatic brain injury, cervical spine injury, a concussion and multiple bruises. He said he suffers from post concussion syndrome, post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, traumatic headaches and visual convergence inefficiency.
Marchionda said he suffered many of the same injuries, as well as a neck and back injury, a spleen injury, cervical radiculopathy, vestibular dysfunction, a left lumbar spine abrasion, cervical spine injury, abdominal wall contusions and multiple bruises. He said he also suffers from emotional and psychological injuries.
