(The Fayetteville Observer published the following story by Paul Woolverton on its website on September 3.)
RALEIGH, N.C. — The widow of a Fayetteville firefighter can continue her lawsuit against the train company that she claims is responsible for his death, the state Court of Appeals said Tuesday.
David Sharp of Aberdeen died March 17, 2000, when an Amtrak train struck the fire truck he was driving. His wife, Dawn Sharp, sued CSX Transportation.
Superior Court Judge Jack Thompson dismissed the lawsuit in 2002, saying that David Sharp was negligent. The Court of Appeals voted 3-0 to reverse Thompson’s decision.
According to Dawn Sharp’s complaint, David Sharp was returning the truck to his fire station after a call. He was the only person on the truck and was required to return it promptly.
Sharp stopped at a railroad crossing on Cumberland Street as a CSX freight train passed by on one set of tracks. After clearing the crossing, the train stopped.
The complaint says that it was common knowledge in Fayetteville that freight trains frequently stopped close enough to crossings to trigger the gates and keep them down, even when no other train was approaching.
The complaint says that Sharp waited to see if the gates would rise, and that he believed the gates were down solely because of the parked freight train.
Sharp didn’t see the Amtrak train because the freight train obscured his view, the complaint says.
In general, state law protects defendants from lawsuits if there is evidence that the plaintiff was negligent. However, the Court of Appeals said that the law against crossing railroad tracks when the gates are down says that, “Violation of this section shall not constitute negligence per se.”
The justices also said that car-train lawsuits are not always automatically dismissed.
The court noted that drivers of emergency vehicles are typically allowed exemptions from traffic laws while performing their duties, so long as they exercise care while doing so.