(Lacona, New York – January 19, 2014)
According to Federal Railroad Administration records, only a single CSX freight train uses a 25 MPH-maximum speed railroad line through Lacona, NY, but that lone train was all it took to kill a local resident whose snowmobile became stuck on CSX tracks in the Oswego County community Sunday night at about 11:00 P.M.
Bernard C. Joss, 55, was desperately trying to free his 2002 Polaris 700 snowmobile from its situation when the train, whose engineer began blowing the locomotive’s horn and applying the train’s emergency air brakes, but the victim continued his futile effort until the train struck him and his snowmobile, killing him instantly.
New York State Police, Oswego County Sheriff’s Dept., Lacona Volunteer Fire Dept., Northern Oswego County Ambulance and CSX railroad police personnel responded to the tragedy, which occurred along a narrow rail corridor between the grade crossings at Harwood Drive and Miller Road.
