CLEVELAND, September 12 — A BLET member working as an employee of the Indiana Rail Road died on September 10 after a tanker derailed at low speed from a rail spur at a Terre Haute company that makes railroad ties.
Philip T. Myers, 42, was a member of BLET Division 204 in Linton, Ind. He joined the BLET on January 1, 1998. He began working for the Indiana RR in 2006, and prior to that, was employed by the Candian Pacific Railway.
Brother Myers is the fourth BLET member to die while on duty in 2008.
“This is a terrible tragedy,” said BLET National President Ed Rodzwicz. “I extend deepest sympathies Brother Myers’ family and friends.”
Brother Myers was taken to Terre Haute Regional Hospital after the accident, which happened on the property of Tangent Rail Products, in Terre Haute.
According to Vigo County Coroner pathologist Dr. Roland Kohr, Myers was pronounced dead at the hospital from blunt force trauma to the head.
The accident happened about 10:30 a.m.
Myers was part of a two-man work crew on the Tangent rail cars, pushing a line of cars down the rail spur.
A locomotive engineer was in the engine, which was pushing the line of cars, while Myers was on the lead car up at the front. Myers was observing the path to make sure it was clear.
For a still-unknown reason, the car derailed, and Myers was pinned between it and a load of cross ties, one of the products made at that location.
“It is a tragic situation and all of us are in shock and we are deeply saddened,” said Chris Rund, a spokesman for the Indiana Rail Road. “We are a smaller regional railroad company and our employees are a little more tightly knit than you might find on a larger railroad, so this has been very impactful for all of us. Our hearts are with the family.”
Indiana Rail Road operates a 500-mile route rail service in Indiana and Illinois. The company has headquarters in Indianapolis.
Myers hired out on the Indiana Rail Road in 2006 and began his railroad career with the Canadian Pacific Railroad in 1992.
Brother Myers was born Sept. 28, 1965, the son of Gary and “Marty” Martin Myers. He graduated from Clay City High School, Class of 1984.
He had worked in the railroad industry for 16 years, most recently as a locomotive engineer for Indiana Rail Road. Prior to 2006, he worked for CP Rail. He had been a member of the Clay City Veterans of Foreign Wars post, and had been an active member of the BLET and Teamsters.
He enjoyed being a “shade tree” mechanic, and loved going to truck pulls with his son. Family was very important to Philip and he was very proud to be a father and grandfather. He was a member of the Free Methodist Church in Clay City.
Survivors include his son, Kevin Myers and wife Misty of Clay City; daughter Whitney Myers, also of Clay City; granddaughter, Peyton Myers; his father, Gary Myers; grandmother, Frances Martin of Bowling Green; sister, Shannon Myers of Clay City; two brothers, Joe Myers of Terre Haute, and Grady Myers of Lafayette, La.; the mother of his children, April Counterman of Bowling Green; several nieces and nephews and other extended family.
Services will be held Saturday at 1 p.m., at Schoppenhorst Funeral Home, 301 E. Eighth St. Burial will follow at Maple Grove Cemetery. Visitation is today from 4 to 8 p.m., and again Saturday prior to services.
(With reporting from The Tribune-Star newspaper and the Associated Press.)