About 3:13 p.m., Wednesday, March 17. 1993. an Amerada Hess (Hess) tractorsemitrailer hauling gasoline was struck by National Railroad Passenger Corporation (Amtrak) train 91. The truckdriver was attempting to cross a railroad/highway grade crossing on Cypress Creek Road in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Traffic in the area of the crossing was congested because the left and center lanes were closed just over the crossing. Traffic was being channeled into the right lane and later shifted into a right-turn lane. The truck, which was loaded with 8,500 gallons of gasoline, was punctured when it was struck. A fire erupted, engulfing the truck and nine other vehicles. The fire killed the truckdriver and five occupants of three stopped vehicles.
We determined that the probable cause of the accident was the inadequacy of the precautions taken by the Broward County project manager, the design engineer, and the contractor, which resulted in traffic congestion at the railroad/highway grade crossing, and the truckdriver's decision to cross the railroad track even though the warning system had been activated.
We made recommendations to:
- the Federal Highway Administration
- the American Trucking Associations, Inc., and
- the Amerada Hess Corporation.
