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Jun 13, 2008 11:14 pm US/Central
Jury Awards Families $24M For 2003 Train Crash
(WCCO)
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The railroad said it will appeal several issues. One thing that can't be changed: the outcome of the crash that took four young lives. (File)
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A Minnesota mother and father have been waiting nearly five years for justice for their son. He and three other young people died when a freight train hit their car in Anoka.
Friday, a jury awarded the families $24 million. It's one of the largest sums in Minnesota history.
"Relief. Yea, relief. Now we can sleep at night, start laughing again. Now we can move on," said Harry, Sr. and Linda Rhoades, as they reacted to the verdict.
Their son, Harry, Jr., was killed in that crash back in 2003 on Ferry Street. That train was going nearly 60 miles an hour. It ended up dragging the car several hundred feet.
"I'm still grieving, you know," says Harry Sr.
They recall their son as a shy teen and a quiet guy who liked numbers and finance. Friday though, his parents were anything but shy after the verdict from the Anoka County District Court came down.
The verdict found Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad negligent for what happened that September night, while the young adults were coming home from a Friday Night Football Game.
First, there's the issue with the black-box, like the one used in planes to record transmissions. The one at a railroad crossing recorded the event.
"There was evidence, our experts felt, of manipulation and tampering," said the family's lawyer, Bill Bongard.
Then, there's the issue of what that possible tampering proved. Bongard said it's quite clear.
"That's the meaning of this verdict. The gates and lights were not properly functioning," he said.
A spokesperson for the railroad issued a statement Friday, and it says in part, "The evidence demonstrates that BNSF acted properly and that the occupants went around the gates and warning devices at this grade crossing."
The statement from B.N.S.F. goes on to say, "BNSF is disappointed with the verdict and while we have deep sympathy for the families of the victims of this tragic event, we believe the verdict should be reversed on appeal."
The railroad said it will appeal several issues. One thing that can't be changed: the outcome of the crash that took four young lives.
"There's a loss in your heart that's constantly there," said Linda. "Oh, it's devastating to lose somebody. It's the worst thing."
The family and its lawyer will push for federal legislation that would require data in railroad black boxes be encrypted. That way it would be a lot harder to tamper with the information.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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