NTSB investigating fatal accident of Housatonic Railroad worker

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is investigating a rail accident that occurred Oct. 14 in North Canaan, Connecticut, that resulted in the death of a Housatonic Railroad Inc. employee.

The employee, who had 21 years of railroad service, was struck and killed by a rail-mounted rubber-tire track excavator traveling in an out-of-service track, NTSB officials reported in a summary of its ongoing investigation.

At the time of the accident, the worker was walking in the foul between the out-of-service track and a new switch panel that had been positioned to the side of the track for installation.

Before the accident, the employee, who also was the roadway worker in charge of the out-of-service track, had just measured the new switch panel with another railroad worker. The employee then walked back to a clearing area near the rear of the switch panel to talk with the track excavator operator. After their conversation, the operator started moving the excavator forward at the same time the employee began walking in the same direction as the equipment. As the equipment continued forward, the employee was pinned between the switch panel ties and the moving track excavator.

The NTSB's investigation will focus on Housatonic Railroad's rules and on-track safety when employees are working near moving and working equipment. The railroad, Federal Railroad Administration and Connecticut State Police are cooperating in the investigation, NTSB officials said.