BRANTFORD, Ont. — Gail Hein was in her pajamas returning from a late-night chat at her daughter’s house when she unleashed a chain of events that left her dead, toppled a freight train and forced dozens of Brantford residents to flee their homes, the Toronto Star reported.
Hein, 51, was at her daughter’s place around the corner from her own to discuss an impending move. At about 1 a.m. Saturday she decided to head home, though her daughter urged her to stay the night. Hein, who toiled at several jobs, looked tired, her daughter told police.
At about the same time, Rail America’s 69-car freight train was making its nightly 56-kilometre trip from Nanticoke to Brantford, transporting liquid gas. It was stopped on the tracks as Hein approached it at the Stanley St. crossing.
There was no gate, but there were flashing lights and warning bells. For reasons still unclear, at 1:18 a.m., Hein slammed her white minivan into the stopped train, lodging the vehicle between cars 61 and 62.
“There’s nothing to indicate this was suicide. There’s no reason to think she was depressed,” said Brantford police Inspector Jens Enslav.
A witness at the scene told police he heard Hein’s screams for help from inside the crunched car. He tried in vain to dislodge her from the wreck.
A little more than a kilometre up the track, the locomotive engineer had no idea what had happened. He had stopped the train at the junction, awaiting a green light to bring the cars into the CN yard for drop-off.
Moments later, after the signal was received, the giant train began to roll forward, dragging Hein, still alive and trapped in the wreck of her car, with it.
She was dragged for about half a kilometer when the minivan hit a concrete bridge and burst into a fireball. Though still awaiting autopsy results, police believe the fire killed Hein.
The last eight cars — numbers 62 to 69 — derailed, tumbling down a 9-metre embankment into residential backyards. One 32-tonne tanker crashed into the side of 14 Stewart St., caving in the wall of a woman’s bedroom, coming to rest less than a metre from her head. The woman, now staying with friends, was unhurt.
“I don’t know if she believed in God before, but she does now,” said Brantford Mayor Chris Friel, surveying the scene.
“It was a close call, but it could have been a lot worse. This could have been an unbelievable disaster.”
Seven other cars lay strewn across several backyards.
Linda Berec was awakened by eight loud bangs as each freight car tumbled down.
“There was a lot of banging. I heard a train whistle that wouldn’t stop and then a lot of sirens,” said Berec. The sight outside her bedroom window was terrifying.
“It was like carnage everywhere. It was horrifying. We were very scared. It was our worst fear come true,” said Berec, who has worried about such an accident since she moved to the neighbourhood 11 years ago. Berec, her husband and daughter fled, fearing the tankers might explode. About 50 homes were evacuated, but other than Hein, no one was hurt.
That the derailed cars were virtually empty, except for some butylenes and butane residue, probably averted a deadlier disaster, Enslev said. A full tanker weighs 130 tonnes and could easily flatten a house. There was no danger of leaks because the tankers were reinforced with double-jacketed steel, he said.
“We don’t feel there’s a danger to the people in the area, but we don’t want to take any chances. We’re evacuating them just to be cautious.”
Residents were allowed back yesterday afternoon to retrieve belongings, with police escort.
A spokesperson for Rail America, based in Boca Raton, Fla., stressed that this type of accident is rare and was not the train company’s fault. Nevertheless, the company will pick up all costs related to the evacuation. It signed a 21-year lease in 1991 with CN to use the track.
Cleanup was expected to continue all night. Residents may be allowed home by tonight.