The woman killed Friday by a train has been identified.
According to the Caledonia police, Jocelyn M. Flashinski of Wauwatosa was killed after getting struck by a southbound Amtrak train Friday evening near 4 Mile Road and Highway H in Caledonia. Flashinski does have ties to the Racine area. She was 31.
Patch reached out to the Flashinski family, but relatives were too distraught to comment.
Police said Flashinski ran onto the tracks and that "the incident is not criminal in nature." The train was traveling from Milwaukee to Chicago.
Vince Patoka, a passenger on a northbound train from Chicago to Milwaukee that had to stop after the accident, told Patch that the conductor had been making announcements about every 20 minutes to apologize for the inconvenience.
Passengers were told there was an incident on the track ahead of their train that had no impact on passenger safety, Patoka said.
That train was able to pull into the Sturtevant station at approximately 8 p.m., and by 9 p.m. was going to be allowed to continue its journey north into Milwaukee.
From WLNS in Lansing MI 06 June, 2012
WATERFORD TOWNSHIP, Mich. (AP) - Suburban Detroit authorities say a 45-year-old man may have been listening to a portable music player when a train struck and killed him as he walked toward it.
Police in Oakland County's Waterford Township say the accident happened about 3 p.m. Wednesday. The site is about 25 miles northwest of Detroit.
Police Chief Daniel McCaw says township resident Kevin Bickford was walking east on the tracks and apparently didn't notice the oncoming westbound train, which blew its horn.
http://www.ntsb.gov/doclib/reports/2012/RAR1201.pdf
If you're reading this story on your smartphone while walking, you're looking in the wrong place.
A growing number of communities are trying to get that message across to stave off pedestrian accidents that can happen when people walking become too engrossed with their phones.
This spring, Fort Lee, N.J., police began issuing $85 fines for careless walking, and the Utah Transit Authority made distracted walking around trains punishable by a $50 fine.
Delaware has taken a different approach, placing about 100 large stickers with the words "LOOK UP" on sidewalks near crosswalks in Wilmington, Newark and Rehoboth Beach, urging pedestrians to pay less attention to their phones and more to what's going on around them.
"Delaware may be breaking some new ground," says Jonathan Adkins, spokesman for the Governors Highway Safety Association, which tracks state highway safety campaigns. "It's really an emerging issue."
Nabree Tilghman, 18, slowed his walk slightly to check his Android smartphone as he approached an intersection this week in Wilmington, Del.
"If you're aware of your surroundings, it's safe. You just have to be smart about it." said Tilghman, a student at Delaware Technical Community College.
Tilghman admits he has, on occasion, tripped while texting and crossing the street, but says he hasn't run into anyone or had close calls with a moving vehicle.
Others haven't fared as well. Research from Ohio State University showed cellphone use by pedestrians led to more than 1,000 emergency-room visits nationwide in 2008.
In March, a 45-year-old woman had to be rescued from Lake Michigan after she fell off a pier while texting and walking, police said.
"When people are talking on cellphones, texting or even listening to music, unfortunately, they're not as aware of what's going on around them," said Police Lt. Mark Farrall in Newark, Del.
As an aside, I think this initiative is partially ridiculous, except near railroad tracks and if you are walking along the many piers in Lake Michigan and happen to fall into umpteen feet of water.
This is going to be a different blog post this evening. I figured it would be appropriate to mention it on here because it does have something to do with being safe near the railroad. My best friend and I went out this evening and did some last minute rail fanning over in East Lansing, MI. We waited for about a half hour or so to catch the eastbound Amtrak going to Port Huron. Got some great pictures and also seen a few people cut out in front of the train as it was starting to gain momentum (gasp!) As the train was starting to leave the station, the gates and flashers were beginning their descent when someone in a vehicle stopped on the tracks. All my friend and I heard were what could have been deemed to be "angry train horn sounds." I told her that those noises couldnt be good; the train sat in the one spot for about 5 minutes or so before continuing on. The point of this post is this: the gates, the lights are there for a reason-your personal safety. Do not stop on the tracks. I would have hate to have seen the outcome if a westbound freight train also happened to alight at the same time as the Amtrak.
Monday marks the start of Rail Safety Week and a national non-profit group notes it's an important reminder as rail accidents are on the rise in Canada.
Operation Lifesaver Canada reports in just the first three months of 2012, accidents increased by 25 per cent over the same period last year.
Serious injuries jumped 88 per cent and fatalities rose 20 per cent.
Manitoba, Ontario and British Columbia saw marked increases, while the other provinces either remained unchanged or saw a general decline.
Rail Safety Week runs from Monday April 30 until Sunday May 6.
Groups will be hosting events and safety blitzes across the country this week to remind people to be careful around trains, tracks and rail property.
Image courtesy of Canadian National Railway, 2012
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