A curious child may have exposed a common railroad practice that lawmen fear could be exploited by terrorists.
A 265,000 pound rail car - loaded with plastic pellets - was parked, waiting to be picked up by a train and pulled to its final destination. The Utica Observer-Dispatch says a 13-year-old playing on the car caused it to break loose and roll, careening through the city, injuring a motorist when it collided with a car and damaging Utica’s Union Station, where it bumped an antique locomotive, shoving it into the stairs for the station’s overpass.
Police Chief Mark Williams was alarmed, telling the paper if a youth can disable the car's air brakes and set it loose, imagine if someone wanted to do a planned attack or if the car was set into motion during rush hour.
Federal Railroad Administration investigators found nothing that suggested the railroad was operating outside of standard practices.
