Almost three years ago, a teenager visiting from Minnesota fell through a 6-8 inch gap at the Woodside Long Island Rail Road station. Natalie Smead (pictured) tried crawling across the tracks and was fatally hit by an oncoming train. Now, Newsday reports that Smead's mother Susan Perry committed suicide: "On April 5, three days before the LIRR and Metropolitan Transportation Authority were to cut a $1.5 million check to settle the family's lawsuit over Smead's death, Perry, 50, killed herself in Minnesota, her family has disclosed." While the incident raised concerns about the huge gaps at many LIRR stations, an NTSB report recently blamed Smead's death on her alcohol level (here's the report PDF), noting she had a 0.23 blood alcohol level and that she failed to listen to instructions to stay still. Family and friends say that after her daughter's death, Perry, who used to run triathlons, became depressed and upset. Her family decided to speak out on Perry's death to "highlight the damage they feel was caused by the NTSB report." more ›

The MTA released some St. Patrick's Day rules for the Long Island Railroad: "In an effort to maintain orderly travel for our customers attending the St. Patrick's Day Parade, alcoholic beverages will not be permitted." Newsday reports that alcohol will be banned all Saturday (March 17) and early Sunday and that any alcoholic beverages will be confiscated. Given that there doesn't seem to be a fine or penalty attached to having alcoholic beverages, we bet people will still try to sneak it in. We wonder if the MTA will be making sure more LIRR are on duty to enforce this. more ›

Ever since a teenager died after falling through a large platform gap at the Woodside Long Island Rail Road station last summer, Newsday has had excellent coverage over the platform gap safety issue. On the Newsday website, there's an extensive "Investigating the Gap" section, complete with video, articles, and an amazing map. more ›

After a 13 year old Queens boy running across LIRR tracks was killed by a train, there had been much criticism about the poor state of the fences that surround the tracks. Yesterday, the MTA announced it would try to address track access issues. The MTA will survey tracks and try to "fix the most glaring deficiencies in a system requiring nearly 3,000 miles of fencing to secure," according to Newsday. MTA Executive Director Elliot Sander said, "Unfortunately we can't fence the entire system. It's a massive system. But we're going to be looking for those places that are most sensitive in a way we have not done before." more ›

A train commute without a buzz? The MTA may look into banning alcohol sales on LIRR and Metro-North trains. The NY Sun reports MTA board member Mitchell Pally as saying, "They can have as many beers as they want as soon as they get home. I would prefer we don't let anyone drink alcohol on the train. If we're not ready to go that far … the least we can do is not make it easy for people to do it, which is, don't sell it."

The safety issue, according to Mr. Pally, is drunk driving when tipsy passengers head to their homes from train stations. Long Island Rail Road has been selling alcohol on platforms and aboard trains since the 1950s, and Metro-North has been serving it since 1976. No car accidents directly related to onboard drinking have been reported, and bartenders on the trains are not allowed to sell alcohol to passengers who seem to them to be inebriated.

The lawyer representing of the family of the 18 year old girl who was killed when she fell through a Long Island Rail Road platform gap says the MTA "doesn't give a tinker's damn about drinking and intoxication on the railroad". more ›

Well, there's nothing like blaming the victim. The NY State Public Transportation Safety Board says that the August death of Natalie Smead, who fell into a gap at the Woodside LIRR station, was her own fault. The board issued a report saying that 19 year old Smead had been drinking with friends earlier and lost her balance when she fell in the 8-inch gap. When her cousin tried to help her, apparently Smead "pulled away" and crawled under another platform, where she was hit by a different train. more ›

The Long Island Rail Road has been starting to fill in gaps at certain train platforms in the wake of various customer falls. Eighteen year old Natalie Smead, visiting from Minnesota and on her way to Manhattan for a concert, fell in the gap at the Woodside stop and was fatally hit by a train when she tried to get out of the tracks. Newsday found that the gaps at Woodside were as wide at 15 inches. Oddly enough, the Woodside station wasn't on the initial list of stations whose platform gaps needed to be closed (at this point, tracks at Shea Stadium, Jamaica, Southampton and Deer Park have been fixed). more ›

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The tragic death of Natalie Smead at the Woodside LIRR station made people wonder how the 18 year old could fall between the train car and platform in the first place. (Smead fell into the track, then rolled over to another train track where an incoming train hit her.) The answer becomes clearer in today's Daily News: The gap at the Woodside station was six to eight inches. Now, sure, the train conductors say to mind the gap, there are signs saying there's a gap, but six to eight inches seems egregiously big, especially when you're stepping down from a train car - you'd probably need to jump. Also, the Daily News points out:

There is no federal safety regulation that sets a maximum width for the gap between platform and train, a Federal Railroad Administration spokesman said. The Americans with Disabilities Act, though, sets a 3-inch gap limit at newly constructed or renovated stations.

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