Video shows Indiana children forced to crawl under Norfolk Southern train that may move to get to school
HAMMOND, INDIANA: A shocking video of a little girl risking her life by crawling under a train car at a crossing to go to school in Hammond has raised a lot of questions. Norfolk Southern trains have been frequently blocking crossings, resulting in a dangerous situation for schoolchildren, who must climb over or under train cars that could suddenly start moving without warning.
Despite Hess Elementary School being just four blocks away from the train tracks, it is often one of the most difficult destinations to reach due to the trains. Indiana State Representative Carolyn Jackson said the video of the child took her "breath away" and reportedly said, "I hope that they will do something about it and we won’t have to wait until a parent has to bury their child."
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'I don't want to get crushed'
"I don’t want to get crushed," an unidentified eighth grader told ProPublica. She is among many schoolchildren forced to undertake the same dangerous exercise almost every day.
Prior to September 2018, Indiana law prohibited trains from blocking a crossing for more than 10 minutes. However, the Indiana Supreme Court invalidated a 150-year-old law that authorized law enforcement to impose fines on train companies for blocking railroad crossings. The court held that the law was pre-exempt by the 1995 Interstate Commerce Commission Termination Act. This has prompted trains to block crossings for hours or even days sometimes, anywhere between five to six intersections, and has become a daily nuisance for citizens who have to face a life-threatening situation if they decide to cross.
Brandi Odom, a seventh-grade teacher, said due to the blocked crossings, students are often late to school. "I feel awful about it," Superintendent Scott E Miller said about the perils students have to face trying to get to school. Miller added that he has requested Norfolk Sothern's train schedule so they could plan the school day around it but the company declined. This was the same company behind the train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. When Mayor Thomas McDermott Jr contacted the company, they allegedly told him railroads "were here first."
'They just do what they want'
"To them, I am nobody. They don’t pay attention to me. They don’t respect me. They don’t care about the city of Hammond. They just do what they want," the mayor reportedly said.
However, the rail company, which is the the fourth-largest in the US, reportedly expressed concern about children climbing the trains. "It is never safe for members of the public to try to cross the cars," spokesperson Connor Spielmaker reportedly said, adding, "We understand that a stopped train is frustrating, but trains can move at any time and with little warning especially if you are far from the locomotive where the warning bell is sounded when a train starts."
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said the video footage was "shocking" and said "more" needs to be done. "Nobody can look at a video with a child having to climb over or under a railroad car to get to school and think that everything is okay," he said.