Railway accident
Girl struck and killed by train in Dalton
Seventeen-year-old Kaylie M. Mann was struck and killed by a Norfolk Southern freight train while walking with a friend alongside the railroad track near Oakland Street in the hamlet of Dalton at 9:07 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 2.
Livingston County Sheriff’s investigator Chris Smith confirmed that the event is being treated by investigators as an accident. Mann was a native of Dalton.
Neither Mann or her companion were between the rails, but were walking along the track as the train approached at an ordinary and posted speed of 47 mph. Mann, who was the closer to the track of the two, was struck by the locomotive and died instantly.
Crewmen in the locomotive sounded warning blasts on the whistle, which went unheeded by Mann, who apparently and mistakenly believed she was far enough from the track to be in the clear.
Railroad tracks are 4 feet, 8.5 inches between the inside of the rails, but the cross section dimensional profile of modern railroad equipment and locomotives is 10 feet, 8 inches.
An investigation into the incident by Sheriff’s personnel, District Attorney Gregory McCaffery, the New York State Police, and Nunda Fire Department and EMS is ongoing.
The Sheriff’s press release cautions, “The tragedy speaks loud and clear of the dangers of being near railroad tracks. Railroad officials and Sheriff’s investigators warn everyone to refrain from being near rail lines at any time.”
