Train Crash Kills Postal Worker

A postal worker from Mobile was killed Monday when a train crashed into his delivery truck.

Investigators say it appears Nathan Williams III, 64, did not stop at a stop sign at the intersection on Bates Lake Road near Hwy. 43 in Malcom. The railroad crossing sits just a few yards from the post office in Malcom where an employee says Williams made several deliveries each week. According to the employee, Williams was leaving the post office when he was hit by the train.

There are no caution lights or crossing gates at the intersection. People who cross those railroad tracks daily say there are several blind spots, and it would be easy to miss an oncoming train.

The railroad is owned by Norfolk Southern, a company based in Norfolk, Virginia. An engineer and a conductor were onboard the train, which was hauling grain to Mobile, according to Robin Chapman, a spokesperson for the company.

"When the train crew saw the truck proceeding across the crossing, they rang the bell, blew the horn and put on the emergency brakes," said Chapman.

Williams, who investigators say was not wearing a seat belt, was ejected from his truck. He is the third person to die at the railroad intersection in the past two years.

On September 30, 2008, June and Jennifer Weaver died at the same intersection when a train crashed into their car. June, 55, had just picked up her 26 year old daughter from the post office, which doubled as Jennifer's bus stop for the special needs school she attended.

In 2008, the Weaver's family made a public plea for safety measures to be put in place at the deadly intersection. Two years later there is still nothing there to warn drivers of an oncoming train.

Chapman said the Alabama Department of Transportation determines what safety measures are needed at railroad crossings. Chapman said the company follows ALDOT's recommendations.