Amtrak, Families Reach Settlement Over Girls’ Deaths

By Nancy Bartley, The Seattle Times

May 10–The families of two girls who were struck and killed by a passenger train in Kent six years ago have reached an undisclosed out-of-court settlement with Amtrak.

A wrongful-death lawsuit filed by the families of Rachel Marturello and Zandra Lafley was to go to trial next month, but the settlement was reached Monday in a conference before U.S. District Court Judge Marsha Pechman in Seattle. The plaintiffs and Amtrak refused to comment on the settlement.

The lawsuit was considered unusual because wrongful-death cases involving pedestrians struck by trains rarely reach trial, attorneys say. The burden of proof in Washington is high for plaintiffs to win a wrongful-death case: They must prove the train company showed wanton and willful disregard for safety.

Rachel Marturello, 11, and her sister, Rebecca, then 14, and friend Zandra Lafley, 13, were walking on a railroad trestle in Kent on April 20, 2000, when they saw a northbound Amtrak train approaching. Rebecca was able to run and jump to safety, but the other two girls were struck and killed.

According to court documents, the engineer saw the girls when he was about a mile away. He blew the whistle, slowed the train and then released the brake when he thought they were out of the way. Apparently confused, the two girls jumped back in front of the train.

The state has no guidelines for engineers to prevent hitting pedestrians. Amtrak requires only that an engineer sound a warning signal if someone is on the tracks. The assumption is that anyone who hears the signal will get out of the way, according to the railroad.

Railroads generally take the position that people who walk onto tracks, which are private property, put themselves in harm’s way by trespassing, thus negating the railroads’ liability.

It’s a position that has been supported by state and federal transportation agencies.

Earlier, the U.S. District Court granted summary judgment to Amtrak, finding insufficient evidence that the engineer had been willfully careless and caused the girls’ deaths.

But the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals reversed it in a 2-to-3 decision in March 2005, saying there appeared to be sufficient evidence for a jury to find the railroad liable.

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