(The following story by Stacie Hamel appeared on the Omaha World-Herald website on August 7.)
OMAHA — Union Pacific Corp. sued a Pennsylvania company Friday that the railroad had hired to keep trees and other vegetation clear of rail crossings throughout its 23-state system.
The lawsuit contends that DeAngelo Bros. Inc., based in Hazleton, Pa., failed to maintain an Arkansas crossing where a woman and her daughter were killed Aug. 7, 2000, when their vehicle collided with a train. U.P. settled a lawsuit filed by the victims’ family for $12.5 million.
The lawsuit filed Friday asks the U.S. District Court in Omaha to order DeAngelo to pay U.P. $12.5 million plus attorney and legal fees.
The lawsuit alleges that DeAngelo’s failure to maintain the crossing constituted “active and primary negligence” and breach of contract. Under the contract’s terms, the Omaha-based railroad was to be “indemnified and held harmless” for injuries or deaths related to DeAngelo’s work.
A DeAngelo representative said Friday afternoon that company officials had not yet seen the lawsuit and could not comment.
DeAngelo is in the fourth year of a five-year contract with the railroad to control and monitor vegetation at grade crossings. A U.P. spokeswoman declined to comment on whether there had been other problems with DeAngelo’s work performance.
The railroad’s handling of crossing maintenance and accidents recently was criticized in a New York Times series on rail crossing accidents. U.P. responded with a statement detailing steps it had taken to reduce crossing accidents.
Hiring DeAngelo Bros. was a decision made after U.P. merged with the Southern Pacific, said spokeswoman Kathryn Blackwell. It was clear that Southern Pacific track was “in need of attention,” she said.
“The reason we went to this contractor in the first place was to make sure we had a comprehensive way to take care of vegetation in our right of way and crossings that was handled in a uniform way,” she said. “From what I’m told, in this particular area of Arkansas, vegetation grows quickly, and it’s an extremely lush environment. ”
According to U.P.’s lawsuit, DeAngelo treated vegetation at the crossing about June 17, 2000, eight weeks before the accident that killed Minza K. Johnson, permanently disabled her husband, Joseph, killed their daughter, Christin, and injured another passenger.
After the accident, trees and vegetation were found to be in violation of Arkansas statute and the contract, the lawsuit states.