USA: Fatal miniature train derailment

[John Ashworth]

Cleveland Park train derails; 1 child dead, 28 onboard hurt

Miniature train started season's run on Saturday, was inspected this week

By Jenny Arnold
jennifer.arnold@shj.com
GoUpstate.com

Published: Saturday, March 19, 2011 at 2:39 p.m.

A children's train ride at Cleveland Park derailed Saturday afternoon, killing a 6-year-old Gaffney boy and sending 28 people, mostly children, to the hospital. The extent of their injuries is unknown.

Investigators were working Saturday night to determine the cause of the crash. The miniature train, which was in its first hour of operation this season, apparently overturned near the bridge on Asheville Highway about 1 p.m.

Benjamin Samuel Easler of Gaffney died about 45 minutes later at Spartanburg Regional Medical Center from injuries suffered in the crash, according to the Spartanburg County Coroner's Office. He is the son of the Rev. Dwight Easler, pastor of Corinth Baptist Church in Gaffney, who was also on the train and injured.

Rick Burgess, an investigator with the 7th Circuit Solicitor's Office, attends Corinth Baptist Church and said a group of children ages 5 to 10 from the church went to the park on Saturday.

"I had two grandkids on it," Burgess said from an area hospital. "They're OK. But we haven't got to see them or talk to them. They've got us down here in a big conference room with a lot of other family members."

The Rev. Easler's wife, Tabitha, who is eight months pregnant, and their other two sons were also on the train. Tabitha Easler was taken to Spartanburg Regional Medical Center for observation but appears to be doing well, Burgess said Saturday night.

Dwight Easler suffered cuts and broken bones in the crash and remains at Spartanburg Regional.

Burgess' grandchildren, ages 7 and 9, were on the train and required stitches and staples but are recovering, he said.

Samantha Blackwell, 10, said she was riding the train with others from Corinth when all of a sudden the wheels "stuck."

"When it flipped over, I got up really fast and went to call my momma," Samantha said.

Her mother, Jackie Blackwell, was in Gaffney when she got the call.

"All I could hear was screaming, screaming," Jackie Blackwell said, standing next to her daughter in the park.

"It just scared us," she said. "We're lucky, very lucky."

The tragic scene

On a warm, sunny Saturday, families attended birthday parties and prepared for cookouts at the popular Spartanburg park, but shortly after 1 p.m., the frightened screams of injured children turned the day into a nightmare for many.

Even 30 minutes after the crash, loved ones filled the park, talking on cell phones and asking other bystanders about what had happened. Area residents walked to the outskirts of the park along Cleveland Street, where they were blocked by yellow police tape.

One man who didn't give his name said he heard sirens and commotion at the park.

"I didn't see any fire, I didn't smell no smoke," the man said. "Then someone told me, ‘If you got any grandbabies at the park, get down there. The train done went down.' "

Emergency workers examined other injured children near the train depot, across a field from where the engine of the miniature train could be seen lying on its side on the track. One emergency worker rushed across the field carrying a barefoot girl in his arms.

One boy in a neck brace and strapped to a gurney appeared to have scrapes on his face. He cried as a detective and police officer wheeled him to an ambulance in the depot parking lot, a woman running alongside the gurney. The boy's screams could be heard from within the ambulance.

Another boy, sitting up on a gurney, appeared dazed as paramedics took him to an ambulance. A male toddler screamed as a rescue worker patiently wrapped a bandage around his head. He quieted down after the bandage was applied and clung to the shoulders of the emergency worker.

Paramedics also treated a woman near the depot, administering intravenous fluids before strapping her to a backboard.

Marlene Sellers said she had just gotten off the train with her granddaughters, ages 4 and 6. Sellers said after the train went off the track, she tried to calm several panicked children.

"I never in my life seen such a thing," Sellers said, her eyes filled with worry as she watched emergency workers treat the injured. "I've never seen anything so massive or shocking."

Two medical helicopters landed on Asheville Highway, and two children were flown to the children's hospital in Greenville, said Spartanburg Public Safety Capt. Art Littlejohn. Other riders with injuries went to Spartanburg Regional and Mary Black Memorial hospitals.

Twenty-eight people bought tickets on the train, and the driver also was injured, bringing the number of casualties to 29.

Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System spokesman Chad Lawson said 19 patients came into the emergency room there after the incident. He didn't know the breakdown of adults and children.

Ride inspected this week

Cleveland Park is maintained and operated by Spartanburg County. Spartanburg County Councilman David Britt, whose district includes the park, said the state Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation inspected the ride Wednesday. The director of that department was said to be on the way to the scene.

The train was taken on several test runs before riders boarded Saturday, Britt said.

"It's tragic," Britt said. "It's a terrible nightmare. When you see the accident scene, it's amazing anybody survived, because the train turned over and those kids were raked across the rocks."

Britt said the county had the track totally reworked "just a couple of years ago."

Britt said he had visited families at Spartanburg Regional and Mary Black.

"My heart is just broken," he said. "My heart goes out to every one of those families and the children. Right now I am praying for all of them."

County Administrator Glenn Breed said all inspection records for the ride have been provided to investigators, including city police and the county coroner's office.

The S.C. Highway Patrol's Multi-disciplinary Accident Investigation Team, or MAIT, worked at the park Saturday afternoon to reconstruct the crash. MAIT investigates traffic fatalities throughout the state, and Spartanburg Public Safety Director Tony Fisher said the team was brought in for its expertise in dealing with deadly crashes.

Fisher said one of the riders shot video of train ride and crash and investigators will review it to see if it will help determine the cause of the crash.

Police are not treating this as a criminal investigation right now, Fisher said.

"It is a very horrific incident," Fisher said, talking to reporters at the park. "We're a long way from determining if there was anything criminal, and it will take a long time to complete the technical aspects of the investigation."

Community supportive

About 60 people from churches throughout Cherokee County gathered late Saturday to pray for the Easler family and to remember Benjamin Easler.

The community service at Central Baptist Church was organized under short notice on Saturday to give people an opportunity to pray.

Pastor Johnny Bridges told those at the 8:30 p.m. service that although we might not understand God's plan under difficult circumstances, it was important to trust in him.

"We ask why and we don't know why, but we know God is in control," he said.

Pastor Donnie Padgett, the director of missions for the Broad River Baptist Association, said he met with Dwight Easler Saturday afternoon after he received treatment for injuries. Padgett said Easler asked for prayers as he told his two young sons, who were also on the train Saturday, that they had lost their brother.

Easler said he planned to meet with his sons on Sunday morning.

Easler's two sons also suffered broken arms in the accident — one was hospitalized at Spartanburg Regional and the other at Mary Black Memorial Hospital, Padgett said.

"(Easler) told me that sometimes it's hard for adults to understand, so it will certainly be difficult for children to understand and comprehend," Padgett said.

Padgett said doctors were able to stop Tabitha Easler's contractions with medication and her unborn child is expected to be fine.

Counselors will be on hand at Corinth Baptist Church at 10 a.m. today to talk with those involved in the accident. Counselors also will be available for other children and for adults.

"It's a wonderful thing to be a part of God's family because it's during times like these that we don't have words," Padgett said. "We don't know what to say, but we can look to him for strength because he promises us he'll never leave us."

Staff writers Jason Spencer, Lynne Shackleford and Luke Connell contributed to this report.