CLEVELAND — The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) has released its final report on the fatal collision between a Norfolk Southern train and a dump truck in Cleveland last year.
The incident took place at approximately 1:08 a.m. on March 7, 2023. The conductor, 46-year-old Louis Shuster of Broadview Heights, was killed when his Norfolk Southern train collided with a dump truck as they simultaneously entered a private grade crossing in the Cleveland-Cliffs Inc. steel plant in the 2600 block of West 3rd Street.
The NTSB says Shuster "was riding the lead railcar during a shoving movement when he was pinned between the railcar and the dump truck during the collision."
"We determined that the probable cause of the March 7, 2023, Norfolk Southern Railway employee fatality was the crew not following Norfolk Southern Operating Rule 120 requiring a member of the crew to be on the ground at the private highway-railroad grade crossing to warn traffic," the NTSB wrote in its final report.
Additionally, the NTSB says "contributing to the accident was the design of the intersection at the private highway-railroad grade crossing preventing adequate sight distance for the driver to be able to determine if it was safe to cross the tracks."
Previously, the NTSB said the event recorder indicated that the train was traveling about 9 mph at the time of the collision; the maximum authorized speed within the steel plant was 10 mph. The private grade crossing where the accident occurred was equipped with stop signs facing both directions of approach.
After stopping, the Cleveland Division of Police say the truck — a Caterpillar 769C — proceeded forward and collided with the front left side of the first train car, which was operating in a southerly direction. Shuster was pronounced dead at the scene.
Shuster was one of two crew members on the train, along with an engineer in the locomotive cab. The train was composed of one locomotive and 12 mixed railcars: Four residue tank cars and empty covered hopper cars. The dump truck was driven by a TMS International employee and was hauling a full load of limestone, according to the Cleveland Division of Police.
NTSB investigators add that visibility conditions at the time of the accident were dark and clear, while the temperature was 34°F with no precipitation.
Norfolk Southern and TMS International estimated that the total damages to equipment was around $42,000.
As a result of this accident, the Federal Railroad Administration issued “Safety Advisory 2023-02: Highway-Rail Grade Crossing and Shove Movement Accident,” noting the importance of proper training, oversight, job briefings, and crew communication to protect safety at highway–railroad grade crossings.
On the same day of the Cleveland-Cliffs collision, the NTSB announced that it would be launching a special investigation into Norfolk Southern Railway's organization and safety culture. The probe also came on the heels of the February 2023 derailment in East Palestine, as well as those in Indiana and in Springfield, Ohio.
Norfolk Southern offered the following statement to 3News Investigates when asked for comment on the report:
"This incident was a tragedy, and our thoughts continue to be with our team member’s friends and family. We cooperated fully with the National Transportation Safety Board’s investigation and have taken the following steps since the incident:
- Norfolk Southern issued a serious incident notice to employees describing the accident and emphasizing the importance of pausing to identify risks before proceeding in a safe manner in accordance with our operating rules.
- Norfolk Southern amended our rules to provide that when a train approaches a non-gated crossing with active or passive warning devices during a shoving movement, the train crew will perform a 'safety stop' short of the crossing, which will allow a crew member to visually determine whether any highway traffic is approaching or stopped at the crossing. If traffic is approaching or stopped at the crossing, a crewmember must be on the ground at the crossing to warn traffic."