Today’s Darwin Award* goes to a Lakeland, Fla., woman — 27-year-old Sheena Keynna — who was injured after walking right smack into the path of a moving train while crossing the street because she was distracted by looking down at her phone and texting, according to the Lakeland Ledger.
I am baffled by this. Trains are big and loud, and generally noticeable. Wouldn’t she — by using some of her other senses — have some idea that she was walking right into an oncoming train? Or even be stopped at the crossing gates? No, because Sheena Keynna is apparently an especially bright star:
Keynna walked around the crossing gates, which were down at the time, and into the freight train as it rolled through the crossing, police said. Keynna “wasn’t paying attention,” said Sgt. Gary Gross of the Lakeland Police Department.
Gross said Keynna was clipped by the train and tossed into the air. She suffered a compound fracture to her right arm, and her right leg was injured, Gross said.
Accidents like this are rare and easily preventable though, right?
“Accidents between trains and pedestrians or vehicles are all too common,” [Kristin Seay, a spokesperson for the rail line] said. “About every three hours somewhere in the U.S., a person or a vehicle is struck by a train. We urge drivers and pedestrians to use extreme caution around railroad tracks for their personal safety.”
A good rule of thumb before walking or driving across railroad tracks is to ask yourself, “Is there a train coming: Y/N?” If the answer is “N,” feel free to proceed across the railroad tracks. If the answer is “Y,” do not cross because you might get hit by a train. And so concludes my Dipsh*t Tip of the Day.
*Technically not a Darwin Award because she survived and (presumably) can still have children.