The following article appeared in the Star-Ledger on 9-7-08.
On track for safety
Manville sounds the alert after death of 19-year-old
BY JEANETTE RUNDQUIST
Star-Ledger Staff
The railroad tracks running through Manville have always been part of life in the small town.
Tragically, deaths along the tracks -- including the deaths of three teenagers within the past few years -- have too often also been a part of the community's rhythm.
Four months after high school senior Kevin Seit, 19, was struck and killed by a train while walking along the tracks, school officials, police and others are joining together to raise awareness about rail safety.
Police from Norfolk Southern Corp. and CSX Transportation, which own rail lines in Manville, in July stepped up enforcement of no-trespassing rules, issuing written warnings or tickets to more than 40 people. The Manville Business & Professional Association last month began distributing fliers aimed at keeping people off the tracks.
Manville High School sent awareness brochures home with student report cards in June, and on Sept. 12, the school and Operation Lifesaver, a non-profit organization that works to prevent rail fatalities, will hold assemblies for students.
"After we had another death on the railroad tracks of one of our students, I think it was a town outcry: 'What can we do?" said Manville High School Principal Mary McLoughlin, who said she has seen kids trying to jump on a train just a block from the high school, and yelled at them to get away.
"I think because it's so much easier to get to other parts of town by walking along the tracks, it's almost that the geography of the town makes it conducive for kids to walk on. Everybody's done it for all time. But parents need to tell their children that this is not safe," she said.
"Kids think they're invincible, they don't realize that fooling around can really injure themselves," McLoughlin said. "I hope this will make a difference."
The Federal Railroad Administration does not keep railroad casualty statistics by town, according to a spokesman. But looking county by county, between 2005 and May 2008, Somerset County had six trespassing casualties, the fifth most in New Jersey, according to administration statistics.
In 2007, New Jersey overall had 17 rail trespassing fatalities, placing the state ninth highest in that grim statistic, according to the administration.
Norfolk Southern supports raising awareness, but is blunt about the casualties being the result of trespassing. "We want to prevent any incident in which people are trespassing on our property. Just stay off the tracks. It's the law, for one thing, and the consequences of being struck by a train are serious," said Rudy Husband, spokesman for Norfolk Southern.
At Operation Lifesaver, the non-profit group that works to prevent railroad trespassing and grade crossing deaths, state coordinator Todd Hirt said his organization has given safety presentations around the state, including in Belmar, Point Pleasant and Allenhurst. The group is also hoping to do a presentation in Hillsborough this year; a teenage boy was struck and killed by a train there this summer as well.
"Our message is always the same. We're always alerting people to the danger, saying to only cross at public crossings," Hirt said. "We like to think it does make a difference."
He said the group wanted to do a presentation in Manville in 2002, but was not able to get into the schools.
McLoughlin was not principal in 2002, and said she could not answer the question of why the assembly was not held then. But she said the program is welcome now.
"I think we should have ongoing education. Had we done it five or six years ago, we'd have to do it again," she said. "There are going to be different kids in and out of the high school, and I think we should incorporate it in middle school. I think any time is a good time to educate."
Kevin Seit's mother, Dorothy, said her family is still struggling to cope with her son's death. The teenager, who was about a month shy of graduating from Manville High School, was walking to meet his mother, for a ride to his after-school job, when he was killed.
It is believed he was wearing an iPod at the time, and did not hear the approaching train. Police said it has been determined his death was accidental.
Some other deaths along the Manville tracks have been determined to be suicides, however, or have been alcohol-related, according to Manville Lt. John Crater.
Dorothy Seit spoke bitterly about the need for better fencing along the tracks -- she said there were holes that were fixed just after her son's death -- and more enforcement, which she said was rare before her boy died. She said trains also sound their horns loudly and more often now than before the accident.
She said education might help, but she wished it had started long ago.
"It's too little too late for us. But if it can prevent or help anyone, I think it would be a good thing," she said. "They should have done something a long time ago, and I'm sure they know that."