Train Crash Victims’ Families Awarded $24 Million

Scott Kappes

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On Friday a Minnesota jury handed down a $24 million dollar judgment to the families of four people who lost their lives in a 2003 Anoka train accident. Each of the families will receive $6 million, for a total of $24 million. The families of Brian Frazier, Harry Rhoades, Bridgette Shannon and Corey Chase against Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway (BNSF) after it was suspected that train company withheld vital information about the case from investigators.

The original investigation determined Frazier drove his car around the gates and into the path of the train where it was struck, killing all four occupants. Attorneys for the plaintiffs argued that the gates did not come down as the train approached the intersection and that BASF concealed this information from investigators.

"For four and a half years Burlington North Santa Fe has allowed us to believe that our son was driving the car, that he broke the law and went around the crossing arm and caused his own death and the death of his own friends," said Christie Frazier, Brian’s mother.

The railway maintains that Frazier ignored the warning signals and that they “acted properly” throughout the investigation. In a statement BNSF expressed their disappointment with the verdict and sympathy for the families of the victims, but also announced that they plan to appeal the verdict.