BART employee dies after being struck by train
By: Beth Winegarner
Examiner Staff Writer
October 15, 2008
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| Jim Strickland, 44, died Tuesday after being struck by a BART train. He had worked for BART since 2001 and was commended for his attendance record and commitment to BART. (Courtesy Photo) |
SAN FRANCISCO — A BART track inspector who had worked for the railway for seven years was struck and killed by a train Tuesday morning while on the job.
Concord resident James Strickland, 44, was inspecting a length of track at Chateau Court in Walnut Creek at 9:30 a.m. when a train traveling 70 mph struck him from behind. Medical examiners pronounced him dead at the scene, according to BART spokesman Linton Johnson.
Strickland and another inspector were performing routine checks on the San Francisco-bound trackway when the accident took place. He was facing the way trains on the line would normally approach, but trains were running in both directions because another work crew was performing maintenance on the Pittsburg-Bay Point tracks, Johnson said.
Under a BART protocol called “simple approval,” workers are allowed to be near tracks while trains are running, and are responsible for their own safety while doing so, according to Johnson.
“There are only certain areas of track where we give simple approval, and it’s defined by how far a person could see,” Johnson said.
The California Department of Occupational Safety and Health Administration, or Cal-OSHA, is investigating Tuesday’s incident, according to spokesman Dean Fryer. Cal-OSHA investigators were on the scene shortly after Strickland’s death, but it could be up to six months before they close their case.
“We have so many unanswered questions. How do they communicate with inspectors? How fast was the train going? Could the operator see this person? What are the procedures for monitoring the trains?” Fryer said.
Strickland began working for BART as a vehicle mechanic Sept. 10, 2001. In June 2003, he became a structures equipment operator, where he won accolades for his attendance and his commitment to the railway agency. He became an inspector in August 2006.
He leaves behind a wife and an 18-year-old son.
The driver of the train that killed the inspector has been placed on paid administrative leave and will undergo drug testing as part of the investigation, Johnson said.
Train service was shut down between the Lafayette and Pleasant Hill stations until 12:45 p.m. BART provided bus service between the stations while inspectors investigated the scene, according to Johnson.
Tuesday’s incident was the first fatality involving a BART employee since Jan. 12, 2001, when a worker was killed on the tracks between the 16th and 24th streets Mission stations, which prompted safety improvements and protocols,
Johnson said.
BART worker killed
Name: James R. Strickland
Age: 44
Years with BART: 7
Title: Structures inspector
Family: Wife and 18-year-old son
