(The following story by Bill Rodgers appeared on the Tribune Chronicle website on May 19.)
WARREN, Ohio — A week after a Newton Township police cruiser was crushed by an oncoming locomotive, a dispatcher in Newton Falls has been suspended for two weeks.
Police Chief Robert Carlson released a memo Monday to part-time dispatcher Dawn A. McAvoy stating that she did not do her duty when she failed to call the CSX train company to tell them a township officer was chasing theft suspects along the tracks intersecting Miller Graber Road. She also failed to inform the next dispatcher of the situation on the tracks, the memo states.
McAvoy’s suspension begins Sunday and will end June 7. McAvoy, who has been with the department for about five months, declined to comment.
Carlson states that McAvoy must make ‘‘every effort possible to maintain the lifeline with the officer.’’
‘‘A call to CSX would have advised them of an officer on the tracks and his approximate location. I know the officer did not advise you of his vehicle being parked on the tracks; there was still a possibility that the officer could have been injured or killed during this incident,’’ Carlson states in the memo.
He acknowledges that he does not know whether a call to CSX could have stopped the train and prevented it from hitting the cruiser on May 12. But McAvoy should have called the company, and should have told the dispatcher who took over for her at the 11 p.m. shift change.
To date, several calls to CSX’s central office in Jacksonville, Fla., have not been returned.
Officer Tom Colosimo stopped on the tracks about 10:50 p.m. when he spotted three scrap metal theft suspects walking along the railway. When they ran, he jumped out of the car and chased them, radioing that he was on the tracks and told the dispatcher to call the train company. Officers from several other police departments were near the tracks assisting Colosimo’s search.
Almost 13 minutes later, after the shift change, Colosimo radioed back and asked if anyone called the train company. It was then he added that his cruiser was on the train tracks. The new dispatcher was on the phone with CSX when the train hit the cruiser about a minute later.
Newton Township police Chief Tommy Thompson agreed with earlier statements that Colosimo’s decision to park the cruiser on the tracks was a ‘‘split second’’ decision. The chief added that Colosimo positioned his cruiser there because the cruiser’s lights lit up both sides of the track, making it easier for the officer to see the suspects.
According to reports, the conductor noticed the cruiser’s overhead lights from a half mile away and tried to brake. The trains can take up to 2 miles before stopping fully and the train hit the unoccupied cruiser. No one was injured in the crash, but the cruiser was totaled.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol investigated and issued no citations.
In his office Monday, Carlson said it was possible, according to conversations he had with some CSX employees, that the trains would not have been stopped unless specifically told that there was an emergency. But he said the warning would have made crews more observant.
‘‘Still, a call should have been made,’’ Carlson said.
A news release from Newton Township police information officer Jim Luonuansuu states that the department supports Carlson and his decision.
‘‘As in the past, we will continue to support the Newton Falls City Police Department as they have always supported the Newton Township Police Department,’’ the release states.
The release ends by stating there will be no further comments on the crash.