An 18-year-old senior at Auburndale High School, was struck by an Amtrak Train Monday evening on October 19, 2009. The victim was identified as Robert Lopez Jr., of Lake Alfred, FL, Lopez lived on South Char Mill Road in Lake Alfred,FL.
According to the Lakeland Ledger, Polk County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Donna Wood stated that the engineer spotted the pedestrian walking in the middle of the tracks while rounding a curve. The engineer told officials that he sounded the horn, but the victim didn't appear to notice the train initially. When he spotted the train heading toward him, he tried to get out of the way, Wood said.
Monique Torrez, Lopez's mother, said she was stunned when deputies knocked on the door and told her what had happened. She and Lopez's two sisters spent Tuesday consoling one another as they tried to make sense of the tragedy. "He was supposed to catch the bus", Torrez said. She had warned him many times about walking on the train tracks. He usually walked home from wrestling practice on Tuesdays and Thursdays, Torrez stated.
According to the Polk County Sheriff's Office, Lopez was wearing headphones as he walked along the tracks around 6:20 p.m.
The Amtrak Silver Star,nine-car, two-engine passenger train, carrying 119 passengers was traveling 60 mph at the time. It was heading from Miami to New York, and was just east of the Auburndale city limits in Auburndale, FL, near Lake Alfred Road and Bolender Road. Lopez was struck around 6:20 p.m. Rounding a curve, the engineer spotted him walking in the middle of the tracks, he sounded the horn, but Lopez initially didn't appear to notice, Polk County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman Donna Wood stated. When Lopez spotted the train, he tried to get out of the way but didn't make it in time, Wood said.
"He used to go jogging in the middle of the night," Torrez said. "I used to talk to him about the consequences in life. He always said 'I'm not going to die. One reason Lopez walked was to stay fit, said his mother. He had been chubby before joining the wrestling team, and the 6-foot teen had become slender and obsessed with working out.
Grief counselors went to Auburndale High School in Auburndale, FL, to help his fellow students and those who were in his youth group at First United Methodist Church in Lake Alfred, FL, to help cope with the loss.
Auburndale High School Principal, John Hill said this is the first time during his three years as principal that he's lost a student, and he said it was emotional and at the same time encouraging to see how students comforted one another.
"What's going to be hard for me is mentally building their strength up," Torrez said about her two daughters. "I definitely don't want them to become traumatized. All I want people to do for me is pray." Torrez said her son was a big help taking care of his younger sisters at their two-bedroom duplex apartment on Charmil Avenue in Lake Alfred, FL, and now she's worried about them.
According to the recentFederal RailRoad Administration Office of Safety Analysis(FRRAOSA)report,15.8% of train accidents in the State of Florida were cause by Florida East Coast Railway Company(FEC). In 2006, there was only one reported train accident in descending frequency and no other accidents involving trains have been reported since the July 2009 report.
In my experience as a personal injury attorney, practicing in Polk County, FL, I have unfortunately seen many tragedies such as this one. No matter how many tragic cases I have handled, my heart continues to break each time I meet a family member grieving the loss of a loved one. No words can bring their loved one back and no amount of money can ever make them whole. However, families can perhaps take some comfort in knowing that the law can bring justice. My role as their lawyer is to seek that justice.
