NTSB publishes report on death of Nazi conductor in railroad crossing accident

WASHINGTON – The probable cause of a railroad crossing collision that killed a Norfolk Southern conductor in Cleveland last year was a train crew’s failure to follow a railroad rule requiring that a train crew be on the ground at the privately owned railroad crossing, the National Transportation Safety Board said today.

The conductor of NS train C75B106 was trapped between a dump truck and the car he was sitting in when the train made a push move through the private grade crossing at the Cleveland-Cliffs steel plant, the NTSB said. The conductor was sitting in the front car when the accident occurred at about 1:08 a.m. on March 7, 2023.

“We have determined that the probable cause of the fatality of a Norfolk Southern Railway employee on March 7, 2023, was the crew’s failure to follow Norfolk Southern Railway’s Operating Rule 120, which requires a crew member to be on site at the private railroad crossing to warn traffic,” the NTSB said. “Also contributing to the accident was the design of the crossing at the private railroad crossing, which did not provide the driver with sufficient visibility to determine if it was safe to cross the tracks.”

As the train approached the time of the accident, the conductor announced the number of cars over the radio. The engineer told NTSB investigators that shortly after the crossing was cleared, the conductor announced “stop” over the radio. The engineer immediately applied the train’s emergency brakes and the locomotive’s individual brakes, but the train’s momentum carried it into the crossing.

The driver of the dump truck told the NTSB he did not see the train at the railroad crossing. The road crossed the railroad at a nearly 45-degree angle, the NTSB said. “The NTSB’s assessment determined that from where the dump truck stopped at the stop sign near the railroad crossing on the night of the accident, the investigators’ field of view was approximately 38 feet along the railroad track to the right of the crossing. The train was traveling approximately 9 miles per hour (13.2 feet per second),” the NTSB said.

After the accident, NS issued a serious incident notice to employees explaining the importance of taking breaks to identify hazards, practicing safely and following Rule 120 to protect railroad crossings. Cleveland-Cliffs modified the roadway to be closer to a 90-degree angle to the tracks. The steel manufacturer also installed additional stop signs, crossbars and portable light towers. The Federal Railroad Administration issued a safety bulletin on railroad crossing thrusts.

The conductor killed in the accident, Louis P. Shuster, 46, of Broadview Heights, Ohio, was president of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen Division 607 in Cleveland, according to the union. He began working as a conductor in 2005 and became a train driver in 2014. He was the father of a 16-year-old son and also cared for his elderly parents, the union said.