Amtrak Has Got A Big Problem

My god, I can’t imagine how anyone thought this was a good idea

PHOENIX — A 65-year-old St. Louis man is missing after Amtrak personnel, mistaking his diabetic shock for drunk and disorderly behavior, kicked him off a train in the middle of a national forest, according to police in Williams, Ariz.

Even if the guy was drunk how do they justify this?

“He was let off in the middle of a national forest, which is about 800,000 acres of beautiful pine trees,” Lt. Mike Graham said.
Police said there is no train station or running water at the crossing, which is about two miles from the nearest road, at an elevation of about 8,000 feet.
Amtrak personnel told police dispatchers that Sims was drunk and unruly.
The Sims family said Sims is diabetic and was going into shock.

Why not throw people overboard on ships? Hell, open up the 767’s door at 35,000 feet and off you go!
Somebody should be facing a lot of jail time even if they somehow find this guy alive.

categories Morality | | datetime June 28, 2007 3:25 pm

2 Responses to “Amtrak Has Got A Big Problem”

  1. Mike Rentner says:
    June 28, 2007 at 4:57 pm

    One of the most basic things you learn in law school is that trains and other public conveyances have a duty to their passengers that goes beyond the normal duty of a business or any other person.
    There are so many precedents, this will be open and shut.
    Even if the man were truly drunk and disorderly, even if he were violent and dangerous, even if they learned he wasn’t paying his fare, there’s no getting around their duty to deliver all passengers to safety.
    For instance, one case involved a woman who missed her stop, so the railroad put her off at the next stop, requiring her to walk through very bad neighborhoods. She was raped several times on the way home. The railroad was sued and lost.
    In another case, a woman missed her stop and was put in a nice hotel at the next stop while she waited for the next available train. A lamp fell and burned her face while she was at the hotel. In that case, the RR wasn’t liable because they delivered her to a reasonably safe place.

  2. The_Real_JeffS says:
    June 28, 2007 at 5:06 pm

    This is yet another reason not to ride AMTRAK.

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