Lakeside resident killed in Amtrak crash at Chikaming Township crossing
Lakeside resident Paul Rizzo, 72, died Tuesday after an Amtrak train hit his vehicle at a railroad crossing in Chikaming Township.
Chikaming Township Police Department officers were called around 9:56 a.m. to the 14000 block of Red Arrow Highway, near the East Road crossing. Police said the southbound train hit Rizzo’s westbound vehicle at the crossing. He was the vehicle’s only occupant.
Dispatchers told responding officers the occupied vehicle was fully engulfed in flames. Chikaming Township and New Buffalo Township firefighters quickly put out the fire.
No injuries were reported among the train’s more than 200 passengers or its crew.
The crash remains under investigation. Police have not released information about what led to the collision.
How are train collisions different from other crashes?
Train collisions can involve different entities responsible for the train, track, warning system and roadway. Federal Railroad Administration rules in 49 CFR Part 234 set minimum standards for maintaining, inspecting and testing grade-crossing warning systems and for reporting and responding to malfunctions.
Those rules do not establish that a warning system malfunctioned in any particular crash. Responsibility may depend on ownership and control records, signal data, train and vehicle evidence and the investigation’s findings.
Get help from Michigan Legal Center
Michigan Legal Center is the Law Offices of Christopher J. Trainor & Associates. Relevant practice areas include personal injury, car accidents and wrongful death.
People with questions after a fatal train-crossing or car crash can use the Contact Michigan Legal Center page to ask whether the matter falls within Michigan Legal Center’s practice areas.
There is no attorney fee unless money is recovered for you. Case costs and fee terms are governed by the written fee agreement.
Michigan Legal Center’s Michigan car accident claims page describes the legal services available after serious vehicle crashes.