Field, BC residents feeling the emotional impact of fatal train derailment
Posted Feb 6, 2019 7:14 am.
Last Updated Feb 6, 2019 12:35 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
FIELD, BC (660 NEWS) – We are now hearing from the people in the town impacted by the latest fatal train derailment.
On Monday a CP Rail train carrying grain derailed sending several cars into the Kicking Horse River killing three crew members.
Jennifer Coffman runs a restaurant in the town and has lived in the area for nearly 20 years.
She told CityNews there is always the fear that these things will happen when the train runs right through the community.
“I don’t think it helps to panic or live in fear too much, but there is that concern obviously. There are over 25 trains daily that go through here. They are transporting all sorts of goods.”
She also feels for the people who are working to clean up this derailment in the harsh conditions around Field, which is stuck in a cold snap.
“You do know they are out there in the cold and your heart goes out. Being here, being the lodge, the restaurant in town, you are thankful that you can at least offer a place to warm up or grab a coffee.”
That sentiment is shared by Caitlin Cameron, who also lives in the area.
“Those poor souls. Our fire crew has to deal with a lot of accidents out here, mostly on the highway. But this is kind of like the next level up, and it just makes me worry about them a lot.”
She said this story has a more personal note for her and the people she loves.
“This weekend is more emotionally sensitive for me because I learned that one of my friends had to clean up the scene. That is devastating, that would be a horrible experience.”
The Transportation Safety Board is still investigating what happened to cause this crash but did say the train was speeding before it plunged into the river.
The three workers, conductor Dylan Paradis, engineer Andrew Dockrell, and trainee Daniel Waldenberger-Bulmer were all living in Calgary.
With files from Jonathan Muma
