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By STEPHEN R. LEVINE slevine@leader.net
Monday, February 07, 2000     Page: 3A

CONYNGHAM TWP. – A township man and his two daughters were injured Sunday
when a van driven by the father collided with a train at a railroad crossing
near Italy Street, state police said.
Police said the man didn’t notice an approaching train and drove into its
path.
   
Trooper Thomas Kelly of the Shickshinny barracks said Randy Holdren of
Italy Street in the township’s Mocanaqua section told him he didn’t see the
5,500-foot-long train as he approached the crossing at Italy and Main streets.
    “He said once he saw it, it was too late,” Kelly said. “The engineer
said the van came out of nowhere and struck the train.” The van spun 180
degrees and landed on the driver’s side facing north. The train continued on
the tracks for about 2,300 feet before coming to a stop, police said. A
recording device inside the train showed the train had sounded its whistle
before, during and after impact, police said. The engineer of the train, John
Maher, 48, and Leo McLane, 54, the conductor, were not injured. The crossing
is not blocked by warning gates, but is marked by two non-blinking railroad
signs, police said. One of the signs was knocked into the snow when Holdren’s
red Ford van collided with the train.
   
Kelly said the Canadian Pacific train out of Binghamton was moving at 34
mph when it struck the driverside front corner of Holdren’s van. He said the
train struck the van at 3:10 p.m., according to an on-board “black box” data
recorder.
   
Holdren, 41, and his daughters Desiree, 13, and Blanche, 5, were
transported to Berwick Hospital. Holdren was treated and released. Desiree
Holdren was listed in stable condition Sunday night, a hospital spokeswoman
said. A Berwick nursing supervisor said Blanche was flown by helicopter to
Geisinger Medical Center in Danville for possible head injuries and internal
injuries. Blanche Holdren’s condition was not available Sunday night. The
Holdrens all wore lap seatbelts. The van was not equipped with shoulder
straps.
   

   
Kelly said he does not believe alcohol played a role in the crash. He said
no summons was issued but he will likely file one against Holdren for
unlawfully entering the crossing.
   
Questioned about the cause, Kelly said: “Carelessness is all I can
attribute it to.”
   
Sunday’s collision was the second at the intersection in less than a year.
In April, a driver was seriously injured when, fearing he’d get struck by an
oncoming train, slammed into the car in front of him. The locomotive slammed
into him.
Supervisor Jamie Cerreta said a gate at the Italy and Main streets crossing
is “in the planning stages” and is expected to be installed in the spring.
He said PennDOT is responsible for the timetable for installing the gate but
believes “if those gates were in, both of those crashes would have been
averted.”