Train Kills One Photographer And Injures Two More While Taking Photos On Train Rails

Apparently the risk taken while walking on/near railroads does not match the need for taking beautiful photos.

One man was killed and another two injured while taking photos on a train trestle in Santa Barbara.

According to Santa Barbara County Fire Department spokesman Mike Eliason the 4 people foreign students were standing on a trestle which bridges a coastal canyon taking pictures. when an Amtrak train came near they tried to get off the trestle, but did not make it.

Only a month ago a wedding party escaped a close encounter with a train in what Reddit commenter city_nightowl pointed out to be more than a few isolated incidents. There have been many similar cases over the last few years:

• July 2014- Train runs over photographers on trestle; they miraculously survive
• June 2014- Photographer in Missouri hit and killed during photo shoot
• June 2014- Photographer hit and dragged by train while taking pictures on the track
• February 2014- Professional video crew member for ‘Midnight Rider’ hit and killed
• January 2014- Jersey Boys band member posing on tracks hit and killed
• 2013- Cameraman filming ‘train surfers’ hit by train and dies
• 2012- Video of photographer being hit by train
• 2012- Photography teacher hit and killed while photographing trains
• Union Pacific pleads for photographers to stay off tracks
• Map of train injuries/fatalities in the US in one year
• 840 die/injured from trespassing on train tracks annually, Norfolk Southern rail safety

And all we have to say here, is be careful. There isn’t a single photo, as remarkable as it is, that is worth risking your life.

[noozhawk.com via reddit | lead image by Len Matthews]