Don't sunbathe on railroad tracks!

[Mordac]

http://wbztv.com/local/maine.train.crash.2.734918.html

Train Hits Teen Girls Sunbathing On Tracks
Girls Lose Limbs In Horrific Train Crash
LEBANON, Maine (AP) ― Two teenage girls sunbathing on a railroad trestle lost limbs when a train came upon them unexpectedly in this New Hampshire border town, police said Wednesday.

The girls were lying on beach towels on the trestle over Three Mill Pond when the train rounded a corner and began braking and blasting its horn shortly before 11 a.m., said Lt. Gary Fecteau of the York County Sheriff's Department.

The conductor and engineer say they never saw the girls move, but their injuries suggest they tried to scramble away at the last moment, Fecteau said.

Destiny Phaneuf, 13, of Lebanon, lost her leg just below the knee; Rachel Brown 14, also of Lebanon, lost a foot, Fecteau said. Both were airlifted to Maine Medical Center in Portland.

The girls were cutting class and enjoying the sunny weather when the freight train came upon them, Fecteau said. There's no indication the girls were impaired by alcohol or drugs, or that their hearing was impaired by headphones, he said.

Phaneuf was unconscious when authorities arrived; Brown told police that the pair had fallen asleep while sunbathing, he said.

The train crew called to report the accident when it happened. Police and rescue workers from Milton, N.H., were first on the scene. They turned the investigation over to York County authorities after determining that the incident had happened in Maine.

(© 2008 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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The parents of one of the girls were going to sue, but their lawyer said she didn't have a leg to stand on.

[Kai Shek]

Heard about this one on the news. Only bad news I see is that they lived; to reproduce another day.

[neren]

Oh I thought I was going to see a Darwin Awards winner. What are those two thinking? How low would your IQ have to be to think that this would be a good idea?

[Dark Belra]

The parents of one of the teens was going to sue, but their lawyer said the girls didn't have a leg to stand on.

Two points about this, 1. That lawyer is a smart ass. 2. How are these people alive. The parents I mean. They think because the train tried to warn the kids is good enough top sue over. What the fuck.

[Kai Shek]

I wonder if the train staff could sue the girls or the parents with the notion that their actions caused them stress and trauma.

[Korisovra]

The parents of the girls will try, and it'll probably end like the last dozen or so retards that sued McD's for spilling coffee all over themselves and winning a few mil in cash. Juries are full of DAW.

[Banner]

Are they SURE that the girls weren't drugged out of their skulls? This makes no sense at all.

Maybe the girls were actually playing chicken, and daring each other to be the last to leap away?

[Bucks]

The parents of one of the girls was going to sue, but their lawyer said she didn't have a leg to stand on.

The lawyer is awesome.

The parents can't sue because it was their children's fault for skipping class and being stupid enough to sunbathe on a railroad track....too bad, they only lost their limbs...

[Kai Shek]

How does it not make sense?

They were too stupid not to realize that sunbathing on railroad tracks= bad idea.

Then they were to dumb to realize that sleeping on railroad tracks= worse idea.

When they woke up, they scrambled to get out of the way but some of the limbs got caught in the path of the oncoming train.

The train probably couldn't see them until only a little whiles away, so the girls probably didn't have that much time to move.

The girls were cutting class and enjoying the sunny weather when the freight train came upon them, Fecteau said. There's no indication the girls were impaired by alcohol or drugs, or that their hearing was impaired by headphones, he said.

Probably just deep sleepers.

[Korisovra]

The g/f was just telling me that it's actually in the guidebook that Japanese citizens get before coming over to the states that you shouldn't say yes to anything, because Americans like to sue. For some reason, that doesn't surprise me. Piss me off, yes, surprise me, no. Stupid bitches.........

[Samuel Black]

The parents of one of the girls were going to sue, but their lawyer said she didn't have a leg to stand on.

I'll admit it, I lol'd.

[White Rabbit]

They might be able to sue the school for not reporting the children missing.

[World]

Two teenage girls sunbathing on a railroad trestle lost limbs when a train came upon them unexpectedly in this New Hampshire border town
Can't quite believe that.

The parents of one of the girls was going to sue, but their lawyer said she didn't have a leg to stand on.

Well played, sir.

[Banner]

In the States, the school has to report by the end of the work day (5pm or so.) Suppose the parents kept the kid out, but forgot to report it. If they had to rush the kid to the emergency room for a high fever, or there was a death in the family, then no one might think of calling it in til well after noon.
Depending on the age of the girls, they might not be considered "missing" until at least eight hours have passed (it's twenty-four hours for an adult.) Were they in college? If they were eighteen or older, it's their responsibility to be in class. It's also their responsibility not to be stupid.
A first time unexcused absence by a minor would probably result in a call from a computer.

[JohnThePyro]

Sounds to me like some kind of group suicide, then they chickened out at the last minute.

[Kai Shek]

The article gives the ages Banner.

Destiny Phaneuf, 13, of Lebanon, lost her leg just below the knee; Rachel Brown 14, also of Lebanon, lost a foot, Fecteau said. Both were airlifted to Maine Medical Center in Portland.

[Banner]

* massages temples *
Damnit. I saw that the first time I read it, then completely missed their ages on the reread. Sorry everyone.


I hate it when I'm stupid.

[Dethklok]

Why could the train not have cut off their heads?!

The injustice....

[Pieman]

Insert Random Australian Anti Lebanese Joke Here.

[Sree]

It's ok, we understand that you're female, Banner.

Also, lol @ stupidity.

[Blaise]

*Sigh* Hoes....

[yak]

The parents of one of the girls were going to sue, but their lawyer said she didn't have a leg to stand on.

I lol'd. Nice one Mordac.

Insert Random Australian Anti Lebanese Joke Here.

You idiot.

Lebanon, USA; not Lebanon, the country in the middle east.

[Wheezybaby]

The parents of one of the girls were going to sue, but their lawyer said she didn't have a leg to stand on.


They couldn't sue because it's technically trespassing, being on railroad tracks.

[Banner]

They couldn't sue because it's technically trespassing, being on railroad tracks.


As well as being, you know, All The Idiot Girls' Fault.

[Wheezybaby]

As well as being, you know, All The Idiot Girls' Fault.


It was all the idiot mc Donalds coffe spillers fault but she still won some money because there was no warning on the cup. The Railroads, on the other hand, have all their basses covered with the big ol' NO TRESPASSING sign.

[Mechanicalchrist]

The woman who spilled the coffee on herself actually had a somewhat valid reason to sue. She received full-thickness burns that went all the way down to her bones, and considering it was her thighs that got burned, that's a lot of tissue to go through. There's absolutely no reason for coffee to be that hot.

Still, she was an idiot for holding the cup between her legs in the first place.

[Banner]

I never actually heard how they got the coffee that hot, any way. No standard coffee-maker water heater should have been able to REACH those temperatures. Not to mention that the service window operator shouldn't have been able to hold the cup.

[Mechanicalchrist]

Apparently it was actually McDonald's policy to keep the coffee at that temperature. They claimed it made it taste better.

[Richardc269]

What dumb broads. They get what they deserved. I honestly don't know how people can get this mentally challenged to do something that is so stupid. They'll probably turn into little emo girls. "I lost my foot! Maybe I can cut myself now to garner more attention! Yay!"

Nice thing Mr. Lawyer said. What a smartass.

[Blaise]

I never actually heard how they got the coffee that hot, any way. No standard coffee-maker water heater should have been able to REACH those temperatures. Not to mention that the service window operator shouldn't have been able to hold the cup. QFT. The coffee would've been quadruple-cupped, or the operator would've been wearing gloves - all noticable clues to the inferno that was her cuppa joe. That was always a fishy case to me.

[Calis Clayr]

They claimed it made it taste better.
How does coffee hot enough to practically cook your tongue taste any better than regular coffee? The only thing you'd feel is pain as soon as you drink it...


I still don't understand how those broads managed to stay alive up to that point. They're too retarded for words. I mean, sunbathing on railroad tracks?

And yes, smart!lawyer FTW.

EDIT: @Mechanicalchrist: I feel stupid now...

[Mechanicalchrist]

How does coffee hot enough to practically cook your tongue taste any better than regular coffee? The only thing you'd feel is pain as soon as you drink it...

I mean it supposedly tastes better when roasted at such a high heat. You're supposed to let it cool before you drink it.

[Necrule Paen]

To be honest I saw Lebanon and thought " At least they can try to blend in with the other amputees at their school." But, no such luck for these girls.

[artenry]

Stupidity knows no bounds..

Cutting school to go sunbathing, I can probably understand. I mean, who hasn't cut school before to go do something else?

But to go sunbathe on active railroad tracks?

They should've died of electrocution first, given their stupidity.

Sigh. Sometimes I worry about the fate of the human race.

[Warlocke]

I honestly hope none of the train operators end up in court for this, it was the girls' stupidity that caused this. Any plans for a lawsuit should get promptly derailed. After all, I'd hate to see anyone get railroaded.

Hopefully, this should have trained the girls not to do such things any more, and they are getting their lives back on track.

Thank you, I'm here all week. :p

[vlad]

Not to get off track, but really Warlocke, you shouldn't be so crude. Afterall, how would you feel if the shoe was on the other foot? Quite frankly, I hope the people around them are doing all they can to give these girls a leg up.

[Warlocke]

Not to get off track, but really Warlocke, you shouldn't be so crude. Afterall, how would you feel if the shoe was on the other foot? Quite frankly, I hope the people around them are doing all they can to give these girls a leg up.You're right, I'm being quite a heel.

Frankly, suing anyone would cost them an arm and a leg, so I don't see them putting a single foot inside a courtroom.

[Blaise]

I can't speak for the other girl, but 13 yr old should've known that attempts to skip school were destined to fail. One shouldn't sleep on the importance of a good education.

Who knows? Maybe this is the kickstart they needed to really focus on their studies. At least they can gain that focus now, and not have their legs swept from underneath them when they're older.

(Meh, Warlocke is funnier)

[yak]

The most likely parties to be sued, if any, aren't the parents, girls, or train drivers, because they have no money to sue for. The two most likely parties to be sued are the school (even better if the school didn't inform the parents that their kids were missing that day), and whoever is in charge of maintaining that section of railway near a populated area (odds improve if the fence is in very bad condition, or if there isn't one).

I'm not saying it's just, or right, but they're the two most likely targets of a suit that I can see.

[Muttering Condolences]

Railway lines have to be fenced? They only have to be clear of debris for a certain number for meters on either side of the track up here.

[enembee]

Apparently you can no longer allow idiots to die, so all tracks have to be fenced.

[yak]

People can sue for pretty much whatever they want. The rail operators legal requirements might be one thing, but even if they followed them 100% you can still sue them if you think they've been negligent in some other way.

One strategy which I've heard is used in the US, is that the claimant will launch a suit that names every possible party that is linked in some way to the accident or dispute as a defendant. The claimant leaves it up to the court to decide who, if any of them, actually bears some responsibility and how much.

I'm not a lawyer, let alone a US one, so I don't know what legal tactics would be used in a case like this.

[Mordac]

You're right, I'm being quite a heel.

Frankly, suing anyone would cost them an arm and a leg, so I don't see them putting a single foot inside a courtroom.

How can you be so callous when this tragedy is afoot?

[Blaise]

Warlocke often puts his foot in he mouth. Getting him on the right path will take baby steps.

[yak]

He's gone off the rails.