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Louisiana Fifth Highest in Railroad Crossing Deaths

Staff Writer — Tue, 08 Aug 2006 15:49:38 GMT

A July 27, 2006 AP story points to flaws in private railroad crossings that may be detrimental to the public. In an attempt to put more emphasis on improving safety at privately owned railroad crossings, the Federal government's Transportation Department is considering a larger role in helping private landholders and railroad companies with this issue.

All of this comes in response to the latest statistics, including 400 railroad accidents per year at privately owned railroad crossings and 30 to 40 fatalities, which accounts for about 10% of all railroad crossing fatalities.

Louisiana has the fifth highest total number of railroad crossing deaths.

"We've had a tremendous improvement in the past decade at public crossings," said Joseph Boardman, Federal Railroad Administration chief. "Fatalities have been reduced between a third to half. We've only had about a 10 percent drop in the deaths at private crossings in the same period of time, and we've actually seen an uptick recently. We're concerned about the private properties."

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Staff Writer

Train Accident Causes Explosion

Christina Cole — Mon, 15 Jan 2007 01:07:39 GMT

On Monday a railroad accident occured when four railroad cars broke free and rolled into a standing engine, creating an explosion and fire in Estill County, say State Police.

No injuries have been reported and plans for an evacuation in Northern Estill County have been changed. After many people left the area, the residents were then told to stay inside and put towels under their doors to prevent smoke from entering the home.

State officials say butyl acetate is burning at the scene.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Christina Cole

Woman Killed in Car Wreck

Christina Cole — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 00:17:17 GMT

A Ragley woman was killed in a fatal car accident on Texas Eastern Road just north of Topsy in Jeff Davis Parish.

The accident victim was a 25-year-old woman.

Police report she was riding in the front seat when the driver, a 46-year-old woman, lost control of her vehicle in a curve and ran into a ditch. A two year old child, also in the car at the time of the accident was transported to the hospital suffering from moderate injuries.

The driver of the vehicle was booked at Jeff Davis Parish Jail. She is being charged with vehicular homicide, vehicle negligent injuring and DWI with child endangerment.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Christina Cole

Two Die in Head-On Car Crash

Christina Cole — Wed, 24 Jan 2007 07:45:10 GMT

Just before 6am in front of M&M International and Pinnacle Oilfield Service, a fatal car accident occured when a black Scion TC was trying to pass a vehicle and crashed with a pickup truck head-on, killing both men from each vehicle.

One witness, an M&M employee Mike Martin, was about 30ft from the crash outside the front door. The crash caused both vehicles to land in a ditch in front of both businesses. Martin was unable to speak to media at the scene.

Several workers rushed to put out the flames of the Scion's engine, which had detached from the car and was lying 40 feet away on the other side of the roadway.

"We put the engine fire out and part of the truck that was also on fire," Melancon said.

Willie Williams, Louisiana State Trooper, said the Scion was traveling east, passing another vehicle in a no-passing zone. The Dodge was traveling west, he said, when the crash happened. The Scion's driver was ejected and the front-wheel assembly was torn from the vehicle.

At about 7:20 a.m., State Police were placing a black bag over the Scion's driver, who was lying in the road closer to the railroad tracks. He was apparently bleeding from his chest area; his white shirt was entirely covered in blood. By 7:50, authorities were using the "Jaws of Life" to extract the driver of the pickup truck, as female and male workers turned their eyes away from the grisly scene.
Melancon said "both appeared dead on impact." Police cleared the scene and refused to allow anyone closer as rescue workers attempted to extract the truck's driver from his vehicle.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Christina Cole

Strong America Limited Recalls Great Wall Brand Chinese Wolfberry Because of Undeclared Sulfites

Jenny Albano — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 00:31:06 GMT

Strong America Limited, in conjunction with the FDA, is recalling Great Wall Brand Chinese Wolfberry because the product may contain undeclared sulfites. Some people are allergic or are very sensitive to sulfites and this can cause them life-threatening effects if they consume this product.

So far no illnesses have been reported to the company. The product comes in an uncoded 7 oz. package and was sold throughout Georgia, New York, and Tennessee.

The problem was discovered during a routine inspection by the New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets Food Inspectors and an analysis by the Department's Food Laboratory found that there were sulfites in the product, which were not labeled on the Chinese Wolfberry.

The consumption of 10 milligrams of sulfites per serving has been reported to elicit severe reactions in some asthmatics; Anaphylactic shock could occur in certain sulfites sensitive individuals upon ingesting 10 milligrams or more of sulfites. Analysis of the Chinese Wolfberry revealed that it contained 12.87 milligrams per serving.

For more information on this subject, please refer to our section on Defective and Dangerous Products.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Jenny Albano

Trucking Accident Claims Two Lives

Christina Cole — Wed, 03 Jan 2007 01:59:05 GMT

On Wednesday, an 18-mile stretch of Interstate 20 eastbound was closed in northeastern Louisiana; more than 12 hours after a tractor-trailer accident occured when the truck crossed the median, slamming into an eastbound rig.

There were two fatalities.

Graves, 63, was identified as one of the fatalities. He was driving westbound with his rig loaded with household products.

Watkins, 63, was the other fatality. He was the passenger and co-driver of the other truck that was delivering bread.

Louisiana State Police say Watkins was thrown from the cab that was driven by Atnip. Atnip's injuries were minor. Police say both trucks burned and debris was still being cleaned late today.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Christina Cole

Burger King Switching to Trans-Fat-Free Oil

Jenny Albano — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 12:45:15 GMT

Burger King, the world's second largest hamburger chain, announced Friday that it will be switching to trans-fat-free oil in all U.S. stored by the end of next year. Burger King stated that they have already been using the trans-fat oil in hundreds of their stores, but they want all restaurants to have the healthier alternative.

BK uses mostly cooking oil for french fries and the majority of its chicken products. The company tested the new trans-fat-free oil in their food and had customers taste test it. Consumers reported that more than a dozen of the items cooked in the new oil tasted the same or better than they had before.

Critics were saying that Burger King was taking to long to switch to healthier oils, and in response the Center for Science in the Public Interest sued Burger King in May. Burger King replied and said that they would begin infiltrating their zero trans-fat oil by the end of the year.

Other fast-food chains have done the same thing. McDonald's Corp. has begun to use the trans-fat-free oil this year and Wendy's International Corp. started using the same oil in August 2006. Starbucks announced that they would cut out trans fats in their foods and drinks in the U.S. and Canada by the end of this year and KFC and Taco Bell restaurants are not using trans fat in some of their foods.

Trans fats are listed on food labels as partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. They can raise bad cholesterol and lower healthy cholesterol, increasing the risk of heart disease, doctors say.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Jenny Albano

Two Women Killed in Shreveport Car Accident

Christina Cole — Tue, 08 May 2007 12:33:00 GMT

A car accident, Friday, at 3:45 pm, claimed the lives of two women when the vehicle they were traveling in flipped several times on Interstate 12 in Walker, just east of Baton Rouge.

The 2000 Ford Explorer was traveling west on I-12, pulling a trailer that had possibly blow out, according to police.

The driver, 48, and the passenger, 20, were both ejected from the vehicle and pronounced dead at the scene. A third person was also in the SUV at the time of the accident. He sustained moderate injuries.

Witnesses say they saw the trailer sway back and forth prior to going into the median and flipping over many times.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Christina Cole

Saltwater Truck Driver Killed in Accident

Christina Cole — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 14:18:35 GMT

A 30-year-old, saltwater tank driver was killed Sunday in a trucking accident, in DeSoto Parish, when his truck ran off the highway and overturned.

The main cause of the crash is believed to be speed. This is the third fatal accident in DeSoto Parish involving a saltwater truck in the past four months.

The accident occurred at 12:30pm on Louisiana Highway 5. State Police say he was driving westbound on the highway when he lost control of the vehicle on a curve. That is when the truck went off the right side of the road and overturned. The driver was not wearing a seatbelt and was thrown from the vehicle.

The truck was transporting saltwater from an energy drilling site.

In December, a Shreveport man was killed when his car was hit by a saltwater truck. The truck driver drifted into the wrong lane when he reached down to pick up a cell phone he had dropped. The following day, the driver of another saltwater truck was killed when he lost control of his truck and ran off the road.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Christina Cole

Infant Cold Medicine Pulled From the Shelves

Jenny Albano — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 13:24:05 GMT

According to the Consumer Healthcare Products Association, many makers of cold medicines for infants are voluntarily recalling their products. The recall was initiated for safety purposes. After reviewing the side-effects of these drugs on infants the FDA found that there have been many fatalities due to the drugs.

"The reason the makers of over-the-counter, oral cough and cold medicines for infants are voluntarily withdrawing these medicines is that there have been rare patterns of misuse leading to overdose recently identified, particularly in infants, and safety is our top priority," states the association's president Linda A. Suydam.

She also stated that if the drugs are used as directed than they are safe and effective, but some parents have not been following the directions on the labels precisely.

Last month, federal health officials recommended that the "consult your physician" advice to parents on the labels of cold and cough medicines aimed at young children be dropped and a warning not to use the medications in children under 2 be added. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration will officially consider revising the labels at a meeting next week.

The FDA's review on infant medications revealed that there have been 54 child fatalities from over-the-counter decongestant medicines and 69 reports of children's deaths connected with antihistamines over the past four decades. The withdrawal does not affect medicines intended for children ages 2 and older.

For more information on this subject, please refer to our section on Drugs, Medical Devices, and Implants.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Jenny Albano