# Suicidal idiot changes mind, but leaves vehicle on train tracks, then tragedy ensues. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 26, 2005, 9:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suicidal-idiot-changes-mind-but-leaves-vehicle-on-train-tracks-then-tragedy-ensues/286819 "2005-01-26T21:06:13Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Achren](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/898d66/32.png) [@Achren](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Achren)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suicidal-idiot-changes-mind-but-leaves-vehicle-on-train-tracks-then-tragedy-ensues/286819/21 "2005-01-27T02:16:44Z")
> [@MaddyStrut](#): > > I’ve always wondered about what kind of person throws themselves in front of a train. It’s not the suicide itself that confuses me. It’s more what \*\*Green Bean \*\* mentioned: why put the egineer and crew through that? I remember when I was studying in London that one of the tube stations was shut down because of “a person under a train” (no kidding–that’s the reason we were given). Later we were told it was a suicide. It just bothered me that someone would put another person through the kind of horror and guilt of having to kill them. A-fucking-men. I cannot believe he thought being runover by a train would be a good way to go. And now 10 people are dead while he’s alive. Selfish bastard. What an idiotic, irresponsible waste of skin. ---
**Author:** ![Green\_Bean](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/green_bean/32/1760_2.png) [@Green\_Bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Green_Bean)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 2:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suicidal-idiot-changes-mind-but-leaves-vehicle-on-train-tracks-then-tragedy-ensues/286819/22 "2005-01-27T02:25:17Z")
My earlier comment about the financial costs of a suicide-by-train inspired me to start a thread in GQ: [Suicide by Train and Financial Damages](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=299079). (In case anyone’s interested.) (And please don’t think I care more about the money part than the people part. I don’t. I’m just beyond words on that matter.) ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suicidal-idiot-changes-mind-but-leaves-vehicle-on-train-tracks-then-tragedy-ensues/286819/23 "2005-01-27T02:34:00Z")
How long before the train came did he change his mind? Why didn’t he fucking MOVE his fucking vehicle? ---
**Author:** ![sturmhauke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47c2d/32.png) [@sturmhauke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sturmhauke)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suicidal-idiot-changes-mind-but-leaves-vehicle-on-train-tracks-then-tragedy-ensues/286819/24 "2005-01-27T03:18:19Z")
The best punishment for this guy would be to give him life without parole, and make sure he _doesn’t_ kill himself. That way, he gets a good, long time to realize what he’s done. ---
**Author:** ![danceswithcats](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9e8a1a/32.png) [@danceswithcats](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/danceswithcats)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 3:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suicidal-idiot-changes-mind-but-leaves-vehicle-on-train-tracks-then-tragedy-ensues/286819/25 "2005-01-27T03:39:19Z")
The aspect of these incidents which escapes the press is that of the psychological damage done to the motorman or engineer. You’re driving a machine that weighs hundreds or (freight) thousands of tons, and particularly in the case of ‘suicide by train’ you can’t swerve, you can’t do a damned thing other than run over the stupid SOB. From NTSB reports, engineers can often see what they’re going to hit for a length of time- it’s not like a dog running from between parked cars. Not a load many of us would wish on our fellow man. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![BobT](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e8cbc/32.png) [@BobT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobT)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suicidal-idiot-changes-mind-but-leaves-vehicle-on-train-tracks-then-tragedy-ensues/286819/26 "2005-01-27T05:45:56Z")
In an LA Times article about suicide by train, a German doctor who has studied the issue there, that 10 percent of all people who attempt this survive. And if you do survive, it’s not pleasant. And for those who die, it’s not a quick, painless death either. ---
**Author:** ![Broomstick](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/broomstick/32/246_2.png) [@Broomstick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Broomstick)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suicidal-idiot-changes-mind-but-leaves-vehicle-on-train-tracks-then-tragedy-ensues/286819/27 "2005-01-27T10:56:31Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > How long before the train came did he change his mind? Why didn’t he fucking MOVE his fucking vehicle? No doubt the man has “issues” :rolleyes: Wait - correct that - the man _thought_ he had “issues”. Now, he _really_ has “issues” ---
**Author:** ![HMS\_Irruncible](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hms_irruncible/32/7394_2.png) [@HMS\_Irruncible](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HMS_Irruncible)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 11:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suicidal-idiot-changes-mind-but-leaves-vehicle-on-train-tracks-then-tragedy-ensues/286819/28 "2005-01-27T11:14:41Z")
If suicide was this fuckstick’s goal, I hope the state of California will see fit to help him complete what he couldn’t on his own. ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suicidal-idiot-changes-mind-but-leaves-vehicle-on-train-tracks-then-tragedy-ensues/286819/29 "2005-01-27T11:20:27Z")
Sometimes really bad things happen. This is one of those times. Can’t we mourn the deaths and injuries of those who were affected without necessarily calling for the death and/or injury of the poor deluded schmuck who, during a loss of normal brain function, inflicted them? There but for the grace of Og go you and I. ---
**Author:** ![Scissorjack](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c67d28/32.png) [@Scissorjack](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scissorjack)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 11:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suicidal-idiot-changes-mind-but-leaves-vehicle-on-train-tracks-then-tragedy-ensues/286819/30 "2005-01-27T11:23:56Z")
Lot of people in Japan commit suicide by jumping under trains - I’ve seen one, and it ain’t pretty. Weird thing was, he took off his shoes and placed them neatly side by side on the platform before catching the 8.15. Japan being the caring kind of place that it is, the railway companies send the bill to the families - not just for damage and clean-up, but for the expense in delaying the trains: it can run into a few million yen. ---
**Author:** ![GSV\_Consolation\_of\_Dreams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f1d935/32.png) [@GSV\_Consolation\_of\_Dreams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GSV_Consolation_of_Dreams)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 11:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suicidal-idiot-changes-mind-but-leaves-vehicle-on-train-tracks-then-tragedy-ensues/286819/31 "2005-01-27T11:36:04Z")
Why do these loons park their cars on the line? Wouldn’t it be quicker and less painful to just walk onto the track? 😕 ---
**Author:** ![FinnAgain](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/finnagain/32/12500_2.png) [@FinnAgain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FinnAgain)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 11:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suicidal-idiot-changes-mind-but-leaves-vehicle-on-train-tracks-then-tragedy-ensues/286819/32 "2005-01-27T11:39:09Z")
> [@GSV Consolation of Dreams](#): > > Why do these loons park their cars on the line? Wouldn’t it be quicker and less painful to just walk onto the track? Or lick the third rail. I don’t, however, think he should get the death penalty. In his case, especially if he wanted to end his life so selfishly, rotting away for the rest of his days in a small cell will do just fine. That bastard should have to spend every day for the rest of his life with the names of thd dead burned into his memory. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 11:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suicidal-idiot-changes-mind-but-leaves-vehicle-on-train-tracks-then-tragedy-ensues/286819/33 "2005-01-27T11:41:17Z")
This incident reminds me of the Selby crash back in 2001, in which a driver (allegedly) fell asleep at the wheel of his Land Rover, drove off the road onto the rail lines, escaped from his car and called the emergency services just in time to see an Intercity passenger train hit the vehicle and derail. Which wouldn’t have been too bad, except that the derailed train then hit a fast-moving fully-laden freight train going the other way. “Only” ten dead, but still pretty bad. Suicide-by-train is fairly common in the UK too; I used to know a former train driver who had some stories to tell. The aftermath of a person jumping in front of a fast-moving train conclusively proves that people are largely made of water. Splat-o. It’s not uncommon for the train drivers to require months, if not years, of counselling afterwards., even though there’s almost nothing they can do about it. ---
**Author:** ![Calabi\_Yau](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/46a35a/32.png) [@Calabi\_Yau](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Calabi_Yau)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suicidal-idiot-changes-mind-but-leaves-vehicle-on-train-tracks-then-tragedy-ensues/286819/34 "2005-01-27T12:15:43Z")
Terrible, terrible event. Similar thing happend in UK late last year: [BBC News](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/devon/4021713.stm) Seven dead in this one, including the driver. – ---
**Author:** ![Calabi\_Yau](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/46a35a/32.png) [@Calabi\_Yau](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Calabi_Yau)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 12:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suicidal-idiot-changes-mind-but-leaves-vehicle-on-train-tracks-then-tragedy-ensues/286819/35 "2005-01-27T12:17:36Z")
Sorry, that should say “including the _train_ driver”. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![yosemite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/3ab097/32.png) [@yosemite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yosemite)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 12:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suicidal-idiot-changes-mind-but-leaves-vehicle-on-train-tracks-then-tragedy-ensues/286819/36 "2005-01-27T12:25:26Z")
On the news they interviewed a fireman who discovered one of the injured victims—he had bled a lot and apparently wasn’t sure he’d survive, so he wrote on the windows of the derailed train— **in his own blood** —“I love my wife” and “I love my kids” (with a heart symbol instead of the word). The guy apparently is in the hospital and the last report I saw said that he was expected to survive, but man. The fireman who told the story to the news crew was obviously starting to get choked up. The whole thing is devastating and tragic. And last news story I saw reports that they found the body of another victim—#11—a woman who worked for (I think) the City of Glendale, and was going to retire soon. ---
**Author:** ![TheLoadedDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/35a633/32.png) [@TheLoadedDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TheLoadedDog)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 12:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suicidal-idiot-changes-mind-but-leaves-vehicle-on-train-tracks-then-tragedy-ensues/286819/37 "2005-01-27T12:29:41Z")
> [@yosemite](#): > > On the news they interviewed a fireman who discovered one of the injured victims—he had bled a lot and apparently wasn’t sure he’d survive, so he wrote on the windows of the derailed train— **in his own blood** —“I love my wife” and “I love my kids” (with a heart symbol instead of the word). The guy apparently is in the hospital and the last report I saw said that he was expected to survive, but man. The fireman who told the story to the news crew was obviously starting to get choked up. I saw that earlier (it’s in one of the slides in the slideshow as part of the linked story in the OP). The image of “I _heart_ my kids” fingerpainted in blood on a piece of the train has been with me for about twelve hours now. And it’s not going away. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Rilchiam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/2bfe46/32.png) [@Rilchiam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rilchiam)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 12:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suicidal-idiot-changes-mind-but-leaves-vehicle-on-train-tracks-then-tragedy-ensues/286819/38 "2005-01-27T12:37:25Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > How long before the train came did he change his mind? Why didn’t he fucking MOVE his fucking vehicle? It might have been too late by that time. A friend of mine’s dad died when he stopped his car on a set of train tracks and the wheels got stuck on the rails. We’ll never know, of course but the theory was that he didn’t realize the tracks were in active use (he was in a strange town) and when he heard the signals, panicked and was still trying to move the car when the train hit it. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suicidal-idiot-changes-mind-but-leaves-vehicle-on-train-tracks-then-tragedy-ensues/286819/39 "2005-01-27T13:17:18Z")
I once asked a cop what was the worst thing he’d ever seen. One of his responses was “a car that tried to make it over the train tracks and got hit.” Apparently the driver ended up being spread over three city blocks :eek: I hope this guy gets sentenced to death and they tie him to the traintrack and finish what he tried to start. Yes, I am very vengeful. ---
**Author:** ![World\_Eater](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/f04885/32.png) [@World\_Eater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/World_Eater)\ **Post date:** [January 27, 2005, 1:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suicidal-idiot-changes-mind-but-leaves-vehicle-on-train-tracks-then-tragedy-ensues/286819/40 "2005-01-27T13:30:52Z")
> [@vivalostwages](#): > > Question: Is there any kind of barrier that could be constructed to make it impossible for anyone to get their vehicle onto those tracks in the first place? There will be after the state or whoever gets the shit sued out of them for not magically preventing this accident. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suicidal-idiot-changes-mind-but-leaves-vehicle-on-train-tracks-then-tragedy-ensues/286819.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/suicidal-idiot-changes-mind-but-leaves-vehicle-on-train-tracks-then-tragedy-ensues/286819.md?page=3)