USC preaches rail safety to students after tragic accident

Less than a month ago, a railroad safety group staged an educational blitz at the rail crossing behind the USC Greek Village, handing out pamphlets and posters to fraternity and sorority members.

A segment on respect for rail crossings and trains is included in courses required for every incoming freshman or transfer student at the Columbia campus.

Unfortunately, the lessons didn’t sink in until Wednesday when news spread of the death of Robert Chase Campbell of Anderson. The 20-year-old USC student died from injuries suffered when he fell from a train he hopped near campus with three of his Sigma Nu fraternity brothers.

Graydon McNair, president of the USC chapter of Sigma Nu, said Thursday he had heard students joking about hopping trains in the past. Nobody expects it to end in tragedy, he said.

“Chase’s death came as a shock to all of us,” McNair said. “Not only was he an amazing friend to all who knew him, he was a loyal and dedicated Sigma Nu brother.”

The four fraternity brothers hopped the train between 4 and 5 a.m. They clung to the train, expecting to hop off when the train slowed. But it kept chugging all the way to Clinton, nearly 65 miles.

About 35 miles out, near Prosperity, Campbell fell off and was hit and killed by the train, according to the Newberry County Sheriff’s Office. The other three jumped off safely in Clinton.

Campbell died of multiple traumatic injuries, said Newberry County Deputy Coroner Tommy Hedgepath on Thursday. The death was ruled an accident, and toxicology reports won’t be available for up to four weeks, Hedgepath said.

Funeral services are scheduled for Saturday at 2 p.m. at New Prospect Baptist Church in Anderson.

“It’s very, very tragic,” said Janice Cowen, state coordinator of the rail safety group Operation Lifesaver.

Cowen works with campus and railroad police to stress the safety message to students. While she offered no statistics, she said law enforcement officials told her the number of rail incidents around the USC campus seemed to rise a few years ago, but had dropped recently.

With nine deaths last year, South Carolina ranked 15th among states in pedestrian deaths on railroads. That includes people hit by trains or people who suffer fatal injuries jumping off trains. An additional seven people died in car-train collisions in the state last year.

California had 82 pedestrian-train deaths in 2007, while Texas ranked second among states with 49, according to the Federal Railroad Administration.

In addition to the blitz at the rail crossing early this year, Cowen spoke at a meeting of fraternity and sorority leaders, put up displays at the student union, and even staged a mock crash on Greene Street.

Campus police said problems are more common along the tracks separating campus from the Five Points nightspots than at the crossing near the Greek Village.

Cpl. Kenneth Adams of the USC Police Department includes train safety in his University 101 safety session. That includes reminding students it’s dangerous (and against the law) to climb onto trains. He was saddened by Wednesday’s accident.

“I’m going to continue to preach the word,” Adams said. “Hopefully, some of them will listen.”

Reach Holleman at (803) 771-8366.