Family of man killed at crossing wants signals installed

A family in Shelley is working to bring awareness to a statewide railroad issue after the recent death of a high school graduate.

There are seven crosses at the intersection of Yellowstone Highway and Clinger Road. Each signifies drivers and passengers who lost their lives after their vehicles collided with a train at the crossing.

“We were kind of a little hesitant to do it (put up the crosses) because it could be a distraction to drivers,” said Hyrum Adamson.

Adamson lost his brother Jonathon, whose truck was struck by a freight train when he attempted to cross the railroad tracks at Clinger Road last December.

“My brother was a really good kid. He was willing to go out of his way to help other people,” said Adamson. “He was kind of one of those guys that always had a big smile on his face.”

Since 1953, there have been seven fatalities at the intersection. Adamson said he is working to get a petition started to add a cross arm or other signal to the crossing.

“Seven lives is enough to enact some change on getting some lights and a different warning system in, because this is just too much,” he said.

Currently the intersection is one of the few railroad crossings in Bingham County that has only stop signs to regulate traffic.

Shelley Mayor Stacy Pascoe has no jurisdiction over the railroad crossings within the county, but said Shelley and other cities in the area have had discussions with the railroad about the matter.

“All cities have the same problem, some are a little bigger than other, but we have the same problem,” said Pascoe. “Our philosophy was if we met as a group that we would have a bigger voice, but that hasn’t worked out yet.”

Pascoe said the railroad has agreed to changes, but there have been no results from those conversations in almost a year.

Operation Lifesaver has also worked with communities, railroads and the Idaho Transportation Department to identify high-impact crossings and to form preventative action plans. Operation Lifesaver State Coordinator Travis Campbell said it’s ultimately up to the Idaho Transportation Department.

“Our mission is to reduce the number of incidents to zero,” said Operation Lifesaver State Coordinator Travis Campbell. “At Idaho Operation Lifesaver, we are very passionate about this and we are committed to improving real safety in the state.”

Click here to see death and accident reports, and go to http://olidaho.org/ for more information on Operation Lifesaver.