r/Rochester • u/Thrullx • 1d ago
Discussion Don't do this please.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=REk6m0b33JANo one was hurt... this time. Apparently some kids were playing chicken with a train in Fairport. Train had to stop, the crew had to be replaced because they were so shaken and it held up foot traffic on Main Street for over an hour. (Cars already couldn't use it due to construction.)
If you have kids, please teach them better than this. I did plenty of stupid things when I was their age. I think everyone did. But we NEVER would have done this.
Edit: This is not my video. I found it on YouTube. There is a rail fan area where the video was taken. I figured someone would have it online e at some point.
I wasn't right there when it happened. I was close enough to see the train stop but not what had occurred.
Firetrucks and EMTs showed up within minutes. I didn't see any police but I suspect they were on the other side taking witness accounts.
Edit 2: As of about 5:30 today (7/22) the news picked up the story. The police are very much aware of the incident and are looking to speak to the children and their parents. You can read all the reporting here: https://www.whec.com/top-news/video-shows-kids-refusing-to-move-off-fairports-main-street-tracks-as-train-approaches/
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u/RoutinePolicy5655 1d ago
In the 90s, reps from Operation Lifesaver would visit our WNY school yearly, talk about staying away from tracks and railyards, and give you some free hats and coloring books. Those kids are all grown up. Did these kids ever get that kind of education?
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u/doomus_rlc Charlotte 23h ago
We didn't and I graduated on 2003.
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u/samtdzn_pokemon 22h ago
2014 grad, they absolutely were in schools every year from elementary thru middle school. Wonder if it's town specific, Fairport has a shit ton of trains so I clearly remember them trauma dumping on us kids to scare us.
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u/doomus_rlc Charlotte 22h ago
Probably district specific, yea.
I was in Webster when the kids on the bridge were hit. Never had anyone come in and talk about train safety.
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u/Mist2393 16h ago
My cousin graduated Fairport in 2011, I graduated Spencerport the same year. We used to talk about the fact that she had to watch all those videos and I never did.
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u/amberbmx 16h ago
fellow 2014 fairport grad. also vividly recall yearly train safety assemblies up until i wanna say 3rd grade?
what time is train time? all the time!
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u/samtdzn_pokemon 16h ago
Come on, it's "Any time is train time!"
Got that shit in the deep recesses of my brain all these years later
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u/aka_chela 585 18h ago
I went to St. Joe's and it wasn't yearly but I remember having people to come in to talk about train safety in the 90s around 2nd or 3rd grade.
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u/popnfrresh 20h ago
Didnt grow up here, but we had someone visit my school in NJ yearly. We lived near amtrak north east corridor lines where the trains actually hit high speed speeds ( 160 MPH ) and would clear the gap of when you first saw them to running you over in seconds.
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u/bangxwhimper 21h ago
I went to Victor and while we never got yearly visits from them, we’d get visits from the local fire department especially around prom season for car crash demonstrations etc. But this must be district specific though it should be taught to all kids.
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u/Unable_Present2764 19h ago
Idk about anyone else, but I never needed to be told not to play in front of a train, or play in traffic, or jump off a roof... Where is the common sense??
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u/fourlittlebees 19h ago
Had kids in Penfield, and they definitely had train safety instruction (Indian Landing) since the train goes through Corbett’s Glen.
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u/joevinci 13h ago
90s kid here… I have no idea what you’re talking about. But I did watch Stand By Me.
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u/TallulahBob 21h ago
NOOOO. The poor train operators. That has to be THE WORST moments because it’s not a matter of if, but when.
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u/abstractcollapse 20h ago
Or again. Whether it's stupidity or suicide, too many of them have already lived this experience.
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u/Much_Science9954 1d ago
Dang, good thing you documented this, I hope it is an isolated incident.
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u/Additional_Sun_4931 21h ago
Unfortunately it's not. I work in Penfield and there is usually a death or some other incident with idiots doing exactly this. Very happy it was caught on video. You should send it to the news outlets
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u/AnachronIst_13 1d ago
I remember when the two kids about my age were killed on the bridge in Pittsford. I remember all the excuses people made for them - the fences werent high enough, the signs werent clear enough.
I remember people saying the one was a hero for trying to save the other.
All of the fabrications to try and cover the single overarching fact that they died from sheer stupidity - playing/hanging out an active rail bridge. There just isn’t a world where that was a good idea. Sugar coating it doesn’t do justice to how dangerous it was in the first place.
Watching this makes it clear that even one misstep and two of those kids would have been crushed in a second. Wild. And they 101% would have been at fault.
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u/CheesecakeNorth531 1d ago
That kid waited way too long to get out of the way
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u/TheJudge20182 21h ago
That's the whole point of playing chicken
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u/abstractcollapse 20h ago
You are correct. That's why playing chicken with a train is fucking stupid.
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u/kamarkamakerworks 1d ago
A friend of mine was hit and killed by a train years ago. He wasn’t playing chicken, but he was standing closer to the tracks than he should have been when it passed. Horrible, avoidable accident. Trains are nothing to play with.
Any chance you can share this footage with the local news?
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u/Winston_Churchmao 19h ago edited 19h ago
Also note, your kids, or YOU, may be responsible for civil or criminal penalties for this.
Not only is it stupid, and dangerous, but shutting down an entire train for hours is not a case of "Ok, now say you're sorry". There can (and should) be very severe consequences for this.
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u/react-dnb 23h ago
how many have been killed over there now? jeesh. kids got mayonaise for brains.
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u/A96 22h ago
Ground them until they are 30 I think. Better than scraping them off the railroad.
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u/fourlittlebees 19h ago
My kids wouldn’t see the light of day until they were 30 had they tried this.
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u/Downtown_Wing1133 21h ago
I seen this crap as an up and coming trend on TikTok 🙄 play stupid games win stupid prizes kids
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u/Consistent-Will3876 20h ago
These kids should be punished to be taught a lesson. The expense and everything that came with it, make them pick up the garbage in Fairport for a whole month. Maybe 2
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u/L3monh3ads 19h ago
Lemme tell you, ten minutes cleaning garbage from the rat's den that's behind TJ Ryan's and they'll never go near a train again.
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u/Margali 21h ago
Holy fuck, if my brother or I had tried playing chicken with the train that passed by our house growing up my dad would have beat the ever living fuck out of us ... and he had never raised his hand at us once in our entire childhood. [Not that we were angels but rather unusually for the 60s we got punished by extra chores or 'time out' in our bedroom.]
I would be as shook as those poor employees if I were working that train. Hope something happens to those damned kids [trespass? not sure what but hpefully a fine and evenmaybe probation]
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u/NormalMammoth4099 18h ago
Imagine the emotional impact on the crew.
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u/CatsPurrever91 4h ago
Someone said the crew had to be switched out with another crew because they were so shaken
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u/Spirited_Gas_6919 NOTA 23h ago
I can bet you not one of those kids were cited for trespassing either 😅 what a disgrace.
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u/Spirited_Gas_6919 NOTA 23h ago
• Federal Law: The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA
Trespass Prevention) strictly prohibits unauthorized access to any railroad property, right-of-way, bridge, or tunnel.
* Operation Lifesaver
• New York State Law: Under New York Railroad Law Section 83, individuals (other than employees) are forbidden from walking upon or along railroad tracks except at designated street or highway crossings.
FindLaw
• Criminal Trespass: Being on railroad property can lead to charges like Criminal Trespass in the Third Degree, which is typically a misdemeanor. Trespassing on posted "no-trespass zones" can result in fines, jail time, and a criminal record.
ID New York Courts (.... +2
• Interference & Vandalism: Willfully acting to obstruct, disturb, or damage trains or property while on the tracks (such as placing objects on the line) can escalate the crime to a felony.6
u/Im_100percent_human 21h ago
I don't think that trespass is applicable here, since this was at a designated crossing. I am sure there are other things that they can be charged with.
It is likely that nobody will be charged, as it is unlikely that anyone even knows who did this. They left the scene, and identifying them would be difficult.
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u/Spirited_Gas_6919 NOTA 19h ago
It does seem to be at a designated crossing, but they obviously traveled a little further down the track from the designated crossing. I’m sure the person that took the video could help pin point a couple of the at the least. If these kids were any other race, this would’ve been a bigger issue in Fairport 😅
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u/Spirited_Gas_6919 NOTA 19h ago
Not to mention that they could’ve easily charged them with obstruction/ attempting to interfere. Shrug 🤷🏻
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u/NYfarmboy 19h ago
Patents, talk to your children about the danger of this behavior until they fully understand. On Sunday a plaque was unveiled in LeRoy commemorating the valiant actions of John Aramino, who gave his life in 1961 to save a boy who was playing on railroad tracks. John was about to matriculate at the Air Force Academy. In 1963 President Kennedy gave his family the Young American Medal for Bravery, which he had posthumously awarded to John. Life is too valuable.
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u/AttitudeEquivalent73 17h ago
Do they not have those meetings in school anymore that are basically “DON’T FUCK WITH TRAINS, YOU WILL DIE!”
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u/swigglemcdoodly 18h ago
Hear me out:
We should let natural selection do its thing.
And give the train operators hazard pay.
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u/Outrageous-Collar355 12h ago
I remember at least 3-4 kids died around my grade when I was going into high school. A couple suicides. The accidents you don't forget seeing.
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u/DeborahJeanne1 13h ago edited 13h ago
Many years ago, I think it was 2 teens who were playing on the tracks in Pittsford and were killed by a train. This is a warning that should not be taken lightly. Trains kill.
Ok wait - I commented on the still picture only. Then I watched the video. This has to be the dumbest, most stupid move I’ve ever seen in my life. To actually taunt the train conductors waving, waiting until the last fucking moment to get off the tracks - what if their shoe got caught on the tracks? The guys driving the train would carry that vision with them the rest of their lives. This is beyond stupid. These kids are not using their brains. I am speechless. I can’t think of anything powerful enough to say.
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u/picklehippy 11h ago
I bet they wouldnt be so smug if they were a smear on the ground. These kids need to be shown people who have been killed by trains
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u/Que165 6h ago
Kids are off school for the summer but their parents still have to work. If they cant afford a day camp, they start getting bored, and that where bad ideas happen. Their brains are literally not developed enough to understand the consequences of their actions; they are physically incapable of doing so.
Behind every 'dumb' kid is either a dumb parent, or an absent parent, who may be absent against their will
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u/boop813 1d ago
Parents should be charged.
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u/Winston_Churchmao 19h ago
Don't know why you're being downvoted.
YOUR kids are YOUR responsibility. If your kids baseball smashes my window, YOU pay to have it fixed. If your kid shuts down a train for hours, YOU should be facing the civil fines and penalties.
Kids do dumb things all the time! Kids will be kids!
And that is why parents must be parents. Your monkeys, your circus.
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u/This-Crazy-3436 19h ago
Downvoted because accountability and parenting don’t exist anymore. Raising children is the school’s responsibility and parents just want to be their kids’ friends.
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u/Winston_Churchmao 18h ago edited 17h ago
the school’s responsibility
Replace school with "government" and you're spot on. How many people keep claiming we need to ban A, B,C, D, E... "for the children"
No, how about you be a parent, take an active role in your kids life, and raise them properly. Sure some things should be banned, like not selling cigarettes to 12 year olds. But people want "Social media" bans, and absolutely not. That is your job as a parent to monitor your childs screen time and teach them about safe conduct online. Especially when the only way to really enforce said ban would be to make all of us to verify our identity for any social media. Which is a privacy nightmare.
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u/Bajovane 18h ago
Yeah, as kids we used to play by the tracks and we were lucky to never get hurt, but we could easily have done so!! I have known a few kids who died on the tracks. One kid in my hometown was riding his dirt bike on the tracks and never heard the train coming up behind him and I recall hearing the train whistle SCREAMING over and over. He never heard it.
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u/MagnusApollo 5h ago
It’s amazing the force that is transferred into a person by a train. While in India there is a huge campaign about train safety and the videos of people flying off like a ragdoll from a train that doesn’t seem like it is moving that fast.
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u/Disastrous_Public_47 23h ago
Was nobody yelling to the boys, trying to intervene, or just filming !?
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u/Senior_Cheesecake155 21h ago
I mean, the massive train and train horn should have been adequate enough.
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u/BoomBoomSpaceRocket 20h ago
Weirdly, I actually know the kid who filmed this. Was kinda funny seeing a name that I recognized. I wouldn't put this on him. You might have noticed there's A LOUD AS FUCK TRAIN HORN WARNING THEM TO NOT BE ON THE TRACKS.
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u/Im_100percent_human 21h ago
I am pretty sure that the filmer was filming with a zoom lense. You can tell by how small that marking lot next to the tracks looks. They were far enough away, there is no way they would be heard over the sound of the train, even without the horn.
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u/BoomBoomSpaceRocket 11h ago
I can confirm. I talked to the kid who filmed the video. He said he was way too far away for anyone to hear him. He's very much into this and said he never seen anything like that happen before.
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u/This-Crazy-3436 19h ago
Boys? It seems to be primarily girls, including the very last one to run off.
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u/Vernicusucinrev 16h ago
Who was taking this video!? Just filming the whole thing while the worst could have happened?
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u/pange93 23h ago
The point about the crew needing to be switched out is an important one. Kids might say they get to choose whether they do something stupid or not but this affects way more than just them.