(The following article by Denise Hollinshed was posted on the St. Louis Post-Dispatch website on September 12.)
ST. LOUIS, Mo. — Family members said Mardie Oden had found his dream job as a switchman with Alton & Southern Railway six months ago, but it ended tragically Sunday.
The Federal Railroad Administration along with Alton & Southern and East St. Louis Police are investigating an accident in which Oden was fatally crushed between two trains.
Railroad officials said the accident happened at 11:30 p.m. Sunday while Oden was switching locomotives from one track to another.
Oden, 44, of Belleville, was pronounced dead at 12:51 a.m. Monday in the emergency room at Kenneth Hall Regional Hospital in East St. Louis, according to the St. Clair County Coroner’s Office.
Mike McCarthy, spokesman for Alton & Southern, said the railway was still trying to piece together exactly just what happened when the trains came together.
“They were just moving them from one track to another, it’s basically a simple move,” McCarthy said.
McCarthy said Oden was very well thought of.
“He was a conscientious worker,” he said. “It will be a big loss for us. We are a small railroad, and he was a big part of it.”
Oden’s older brother, Lindsey Oden, 52, of Belleville, believes his brother’s inexperience may have sealed his fate. He said friends who worked at the railroad told him his brother had been making mistakes and should have been pulled off that job.
He wants a thorough investigation into his brother’s death.
“I want the truth,” Oden said. “In a six-month span my little brother shouldn’t have been doing what he was doing. Simple as that.”
Lindsey Oden said his brother had been thrilled to land a stable job after working temporary jobs in security.
Switchman is one of the most dangerous railroad jobs, according to Steve W. Klum, director of public affairs for Federal Railroad Administration. Klum said his agency’s investigation could take several months. If any federal safety violations are found, the railroad could face civil penalties.
Funeral services for Oden are pending at L King Funeral Chapel in Belleville.