Second Suit Filed Against Pennsylvania FD Over Train Accident

Posted by: Curt Varone September 10, 2011 1 Comment

A second lawsuit has been filed against a Pennsylvania volunteer fire department in the tragic deaths of a mother and son who were struck by a train.

Sheila R. Singer, 37, and her son, John Smart, 2, were crossing the railroad tracks on October 30, 2009 when Smart’s stroller got stuck in the tracks. Singer was able to get her two other children ages 5 and 1 away off the tracks, but was struck as she was trying to free her son. According to news reports, a friend had just given Singer $50 and she crossed the tracks to buy groceries.

The boy’s father, Elmer Smart, filed a wrongful death suit against the Norfolk Southern Corp. and the Derry Volunteer Fire Department on August 2, 2011 alleging negligence. The fire department’s property abuts the tracks and has a hole in the fence which people use to cross the tracks.

Singer’s lawsuit, filed by her estate, similarly names the Norfolk Southern Corp. and the Derry Volunteer Fire Department as defendants. The allegation in the complaint is that the department was negligent in failing to properly maintain its portion of the fence.

Here is more on the suit. This link contains more about the accident.

About Curt Varone

Curt Varone has over 45 years of fire service experience and 35 as a practicing attorney licensed in both Rhode Island and Maine. His background includes 29 years as a career firefighter in Providence (retiring as a Deputy Assistant Chief), as well as volunteer and paid on call experience. He is the author of two books: Legal Considerations for Fire and Emergency Services, (2006, 2nd ed. 2011, 3rd ed. 2014, 4th ed. 2022) and Fire Officer's Legal Handbook (2007), and is a contributing editor for Firehouse Magazine writing the Fire Law column.
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