Selfie Tragedy Forever Impacts Those Left Behind [View all]

[mahatmakanejeeves]

This is from a Union Pacific Railroad press release.

Full disclosure: I own shares of Union Pacific. I am posting this because I am getting tired of reading about people putting themselves in such risky positions.

The @ sign in the photos' links means the original photos won't open at DU. You'll have to cut and paste to see them.

I ran the pictures through https://postimage.org/ to put them in a form that will show up here.

SAFETY 12•08•2016

Selfie Tragedy Forever Impacts Those Left Behind

http://www.up.com/cs/groups/public/@uprr/documents/digitalmedia/img_up_instrk-selfie-final_mr.jpg



Kelsea Webster, 15, Essa Ricker, 15, and Savannah Webster, 13, did not hear the horn blasting as the approaching train's headlights created a halo in their final selfie.

Essa Ricker and Kelsea Webster, both 15, and Kelsea’s little sister, Savannah, waved at a westbound train crew and squeezed in for a selfie as it rolled through Utah’s scenic Spanish Fork Canyon October 2011. ... "Standing right by a train ahaha this is awesome!!!!" posted Savannah on Facebook as the train's steel wheels banged along the track's steel rail.

The excitement in the trio's eyes matched their big smiles as the train fanned their blonde hair in the wind while they posed for the selfie—completely unaware of the approaching train coming from the other direction. The train's headlights were visible on the top right side of the photo. ... "They were in their own little world," recalled John Anderson, train conductor inside the eastbound Union Pacific train locomotive. Engineer Michael Anderson, no relation to John, blasted the train horn to get the girls' attention. No response. Not even a flinch.

Trains traveling at 55 mph can take more than a mile to come to a complete stop after the emergency brakes are applied. A rush of panic, confusion and fear filled the locomotive as the train raced toward the girls at approximately 39 miles mph.


“We saw them for about 12 seconds until they disappeared from our sight and the train continued moving forward.”
— Conductor John Anderson

"We watched in horror as we got closer," said John, recalling how both he and Michael yelled as if it might stop what they knew was about to happen. "We saw them for about 12 seconds until they disappeared from our sight and the train continued moving forward." ... John raced back when the train finally stopped about a quarter mile down the track. The first girl he saw had no pulse and it was clear a second girl was no longer alive. John heard 13-year-old Savannah near the railroad crossing. She was hurt and agitated, but alive. ... "I told her everything would be OK and she relaxed a little," said John, who held Savannah's hand until paramedics arrived. "I hoped she would make it and for some reason I really thought she would."
....

http://www.up.com/cs/groups/public/@uprr/documents/digitalmedia/img_up_selfiesafety_crew.jpg



Conductor John Anderson and Engineer Michael Anderson desperately tried to get Kelsea, Essa and Savannah’s attention. They were unable to stop the train before hitting the teenagers.