Aug 26, 2008 7:16 pm US/Eastern
Kids Left On Train Prompts Commuter Rail Changes
MBCR Considers Public Awareness Safety Campaign
WALTHAM (WBZ) ―
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The MBCR is implementing a new warning system on its trains to alert people to how many seconds they have to exit.
WBZ
The Massachusetts Bay Commuter Railroad is looking at making some changes after a train in Waltham started to move before three children were able to get off, separating them from their parents.
The mothers were trying to get off a commuter rail in Waltham when the train started moving with the doors still open and three of the kids they were with still on board, including 5-year-old Jack Salmonson.
"Panic, horror, disbelief," said Jack's mother Patty Salmonson. "It was surreal."
When the train pulled into the Waltham stop last Tuesday morning, Patty Salmonson and her friend were helping their five children off the commuter rail when the train started to roll.
"I had never realized the train had any potential of leaving while we were on the stairs and the door was open," Patty Salmonson said.
A spokesman for the commuter rail says the train was stopped for 46 seconds. Three kids were on the stairs when it started to roll. That's when a conductor ran to help.
"He was yelling to stop the train, stop the train," Patty Salmonson described. "The train continued to roll. He got the kids on the stairs and up into the train."
The locomotive slowly headed down the tracks with Jack and his two young friends inside.
There were some scary moments for the families but luckily no one was hurt, and the commuter rail eventually stopped 250 yards away, backed down the tracks and reunited the kids with their mothers.
The MBCR is now looking into implementing a public awareness safety campaign because of all of the new riders taking the commuter rail.
The MBCR says they followed all established protocol and procedures while this family was trying to exit the train.
"The MBCR hopes this incident will serve as a reminder of the importance of using care and caution when boarding and exiting a train," the company said in a released statement.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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