ST. LOUIS, Mo. — The Illinois Commerce Commission has cited the Norfolk Southern Corp. for allowing brush and trees to obscure the view at a railroad crossing in Marlow, Ill., where five people — including four children — were killed last month, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.
The commission alleged that Norfolk Southern “has not complied with the minimum requirements” of an Illinois law that states: “Every railroad shall keep its right-of-way adjacent to its tracks reasonably clear of brush, shrubbery, trees, weeds, crops and all unnecessary permanent obstructions such as unauthorized signs and billboards for a distance of at least 500 feet each way from every grade crossing where such things would materially obscure the view of approaching trains to travelers on the highway.”
The commission ordered the company to appear at a hearing Aug. 28 in Springfield, Ill. The order was issued last week.
Rudy Husband, a spokesman for Norfolk Southern, declined to comment because of potential litigation in the case.
Marlow is about 90 miles southeast of St. Louis, near Mount Vernon. A crossbuck sign provides the only warning at the crossing on the country blacktop road.
The crash on July 9 killed driver Connie Lorance, 39, of Opdyke, Ill., her children, Adam, 8, and Alyssa, 6; and her niece and nephew, Julie Trout, 11, and Blake Trout, 5. All five were pronounced dead at the scene.
Lorance’s husband, Robert “Mike” Lorance, 43, was in the front passenger seat when the train hit the van on the driver’s side. He was the only occupant of the van to survive and is still recuperating from his injuries, including three broken ribs and collapsed lungs.
“When I heard about the citation, my heart jumped for joy,” Lorance said in an interview Monday. “I hope the company gets what’s coming to them.”
While he would not comment on the accident itself, Lorance said his family was aware that the crossing was hazardous.
“We knew it was bad. And we did not take it lightly,” Lorance said.
He said he has contacted a lawyer and is considering filing a suit against the railroad company.
Lorance is expected to recover physically. But he said he wonders if he’ll ever overcome his grief.
“It comes and goes,” he said.
Beth Bosch, with the commerce commission, said the citation constituted part of an ongoing investigation.
“This citation does not mean conclusively that the railroad company is responsible for the deaths,” Bosch said. “It’s simply one part of our finding regarding the accident.”