Conductor sues railroad, state over fatal incident

The conductor of a train that killed a North Idaho man last year is suing several parties, including the Union Pacific Railroad and Idaho Transportation Department, alleging negligence.

Gabriel Giraud, 24, filed the lawsuit Tuesday in 1st District Court in Kootenai County and contends the railroad crossing where Gary Gibson, 61, was struck and killed by a train did not meet industry or government safety standards.

Giraud also is suing the Post Falls Highway District and DeArtola Construction, the company Gibson was working for at the time of his death in September 2007.

Boise attorney James Piotrowski is representing Giraud and said Giraud was training to be a conductor at the time of the accident and was operating the train under the supervision of an engineer.

Piotrowski said Giraud has not returned to work since the accident and suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder.

Marty Dollar, an investigator with the California law firm of Hildebrand, McLeod and Nelson Inc., is assisting Piotrowski in the case. The crossing in question had no flashing lights or audible alarms to warn motorists, Dollar said.

“I’ve been investigating accidents for over 30 years and because of the angle of the highway that crossing is particularly dangerous,” Dollar said.

According to police reports, Gibson was driving a service truck for DeArtola Construction when he failed to stop at a railroad crossing on Hayden Avenue.

The Idaho Department of Transportation declined to comment on the lawsuit. Kelly Brownsberger, roads supervisor for the Post Falls Highway District, said the agency is only responsible for Hayden Avenue, not the railroad crossing.

Union Pacific Railroad did not immediately return phone calls from the Associated Press on Thursday. DeArtola Construction declined to comment.