Safety of W. Jordan TRAX crossing questioned following fatal accident

WEST JORDAN — A TRAX train accident that killed a West Jordan girl Wednesday may be at least partly due to issues related to the crossing's design, a UTA spokesman said Friday.

"There are some site visibility issues," acknowledged UTA communication director Gerry Carpenter.

UTA immediately halted all test train travel along the new Mid-Jordan line after Wednesday's accident, Carpenter said, pending outcome of a "top to bottom" safety review of the entire line. That suspension will continue until at least June 20.

The girl's death is tragic, Carpenter said. "We're certainly taking this very seriously."

Shariah Casper, 15, and a friend were walking southbound on the sidewalk on the east side of 3200 West. According to witnesses, as the girls approached the TRAX crossing, the roadway's safety arms were down, the safety lights were flashing and a bell was sounding. Those safety arms only block the roadway, not pedestrian traffic, so when the girls attempted to cross, they did not work their way around the safety arms, Carpenter said.

An eastbound test train traveling at 45 mph crossed the road. That train would likely have been more visible from the girls' position than the westbound train that followed 6 seconds later, he said.

The girls began to cross after the first train went by. But the westbound train traveling at 40 mph struck and killed Casper. Her friend escaped injury.

The girls may have never seen the second train, or at least saw it too late, Carpenter said. That's because a sound wall built to protect nearby residents from the constant sound of the trains could have made it hard for them to see the westbound train in time, he said.

A 15-foot sound wall is built perpendicular to the sidewalk where the girls were walking, beginning within a few feet of the sidewalk.

Another visibility issue is that the tracks cross 3200 West at about a 10-degree angle, Carpenter said. That angle would make it easier for pedestrians from the girls' position to see eastbound trains, but harder to see westbound ones.

Finally, a power pole also blocks the view of westbound trains. The pole abuts the sound wall within the TRAX corridor, and is also just a few feet from the sidewalk.

A pedestrian would have to see past both the sound wall and the power pole to view any westbound train.

The sound wall, or something similar, is required by federal regulations, Carpenter said.