SEPTA Trolley Vs. CSX I033 in Darby, PA

[GonzoCRFan]

Apparently the trolley didn't yield. The trolley lost. Knowing SEPTA, the operator will be back at the controls to endanger the lives of the riders in no time...

https://6abc.com/septa-trolley-crash-freight-train-collision-darby-at-6th-and-main-streets/11315618/

[mu26aeh]

The train didn't stop 

[Hiroe]

What immediately jumps out at me is how the crossing gate is clearly on top of the trolley. That's not something that happens unless the trolley was already close enough to the crossing and still moving at a good clip when the gates activated.

CSX has had activation issues with this crossing for years, and I even remember the Darby mayor Paula Brown blocking the crossing in 2000 with her dodge dart (and a township police cruiser) to force CSX into taking action to address maintenance problems, following a string of crossing malfunctions and minor derailments.

I wouldn't be surprised if it's found that the crossing didn't activate until the locos tripped the island block.

[Maletrain]

Regardless of the gates malfunctioning, the statement "It wasn't the bus' fault, the train didn't stop." is just plain ignorant of the physics of the situation.

I don't really expect the general public to realize that, mainly because the "news" media not only has never told them the truth about the physics of such situations, but because the media itself keeps publishing quotes like this that imply the opposite of the truth, with no clarifying comment.

These days, it seems like the "news" media is more a conglomeration of propaganda distribution associations with various loyalties to various conflicting political positions. Their goals seem to be less about informing the public and more toward misleading the public to gain their support for some politicized agendas.  At least we are blessed with a system that does not allow all but one "side" of a story to be completely hidden.  But it still seems awfully hard sometimes to get the public to appreciate reality.