BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — A local family is planning to file a lawsuit against CSX and the City of Buffalo as railroad safety continues to be a concern in our area.
7 News has been following concerns about the lack of barriers in residential neighborhoods and trains driven remotely with no engineer on board since last month.
WATCH: A Buffalo woman's death is prompting new questions about railroad safety in our area
On Tuesday, 7 News spoke to the attorney for the family of an 8-year-old boy who lost his leg after being run over by a train at the end of Wick Street last July.
"It's my understanding he was playing soccer," said attorney Fred Attea, Jr. "We believe the ball went to the tracks and when he went to retrieve the ball there was a train stopped, it started moving, it amputated his leg."
When we were speaking with Attea one of the stop trains started moving, just as he was describing what they believed happened.
"A family member heard the scream, was able to come out and hold the bleeding until the ambulance came, he was in children's hospital for months with his life hanging in the balance," said Attea.
The boy's family and attorney believe the accident could have been prevented if there had been a barricade in place.
7 News reached out to CSX and they said very firmly it's private property and no one should be trespassing.
"An 8-year-old child especially with a language barrier is not going to know private property, and there's nothing to prevent them here," said Attea. "And there's a park right across the street, so I don't think a child is going to understand a warning not to go play with his friends or not to enter the tracks if his ball goes there."
Attea says there have other tragedies on these tracks as well -- including a child child who his foot a few years ago.
7 News also spoke to Marcus Gillebaard, a retired train engineer. He spent decades on board trains and recalls numerous times he had to sound the horn or abruptly stop the train to avoid hitting someone.
"That is a remote-controlled locomotive, we can tell because it's got the flashing lights," said Gillebaard as we spoke with him. "It is highly likely that the man operating that locomotive is anywhere from a quarter mile away to a half a mile away. They literally could hit a person or a car or anything here and that train will just keep going.
Attea says that's exactly what happened to his client.
"CSX should have engineers on the train, they should have better safety measures," said Attea. "Between the city and CSX there should be some signs or barriers to prevent children especially from easily entering these tracks."
7 News has requested an interview with CSX multiple times, and late this afternoon they responded with this statement:
"As we have previously stated, this incident took place within our active rail yard in Buffalo. It was an unfortunate tragedy, and our sincere thoughts continue to be with this family. This incident must serve as a reminder of the very real dangers of trespassing on railroad property and why it is important for the public to stay away from active railroad tracks and out of rail yards."
