Monday, Feb 13, 2017
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THE INDEPENDENT VOICE OF MID CANTERBURY
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Fun at the Plains An elderly fire engine proved a big attraction for Sylvie McLeod, 2, and her brother Thomas, 5, during an open day at the Plains Museum yesterday. PHOTO ROBYN HOOD 100217-RH-0168
Dogs race the clock P3
Train driver’s quick reaction saves life BY SUE NEWMAN
SUE.N@THEGUARDIAN.CO.NZ
Victory for Clark P16
A young Ashburton boy owes his life to the quick reactions of a train driver after he ran onto railway lines during a public event in Ashburton on Friday night. The incident occurred during prizegiving after the Robbie’s Bar and Bistro and Radio Hokonui duck race, an event that attracted hundreds of people who raced plastic ducks down Mill Creek. As the last of the prizes were being presented, the crowd heard a train give a series of loud warning blasts on its horn followed by a screech of brakes as the train stopped. Co-organiser of the event, Hokonui’s Phill Hooper, said it appeared three boys had been playing on the east side of the line and decided to run back across the tracks to the duck race event.
“The driver gave a couple of blasts of the horn and one of the boys appeared to stumble. The driver thought he’d collected one or more of them because he couldn’t see because of the engine’s long nose. It was pretty close and pretty scary and an awful way to end what had been an awesome night,” he said. The boys were unhurt, but the driver was so shaken he was unable to continue his journey and a replacement driver had to be found, leaving the train sitting stationary on the tracks, Hooper said. The incident was a timely warning that temporary fencing might need to be part of the planning for next year’s event, he said. “We can take precautions to stop this happening again and we’ll do whatever we can to ensure it continues in safety.” Another person at the event said the
train was travelling at speed and she believed that only one of the boys ran across the tracks; the other two stopped. “This is likely to be considered a near miss in the driver’s books. He slammed on his brakes and probably thought he’d hit him. People were looking everywhere for the kids and it was later found that the one who leaped in front of the train was not hurt,” she said. In a statement to the Guardian, KiwiRail confirmed that all warning signals in the area, near the Walnut Avenue level crossing, were working – barrier arms were down, bells were on and lights were flashing when the children ran across the tracks.
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