Huntington woman sues CSX after child struck by train

WAYNE -- A Huntington woman is suing CSX Transportation and the Greater Huntington Parks and Recreation District after she claims her daughter was struck by a train while playing in a park.

On Sept. 19, 2009, Audrey Chapman was playing with friends at the Westmoreland Community Park, according to a complaint filed May 20 in Wayne Circuit Court.

Her mother, Allison Chapman, claims there were railroad tracks adjacent to the southern border of the park and that there was not a fence separating the two.

While the children were playing, a ball went flying in the air in the direction of the railroad tracks and Audrey Chapman went to retrieve it, according to the suit.

Allison Chapman claims her daughter walked through a worn path to the railroad tracks to retrieve the ball and was struck by a train owned and operated by CSX Transportation.

The defendants knew or should have known that children frequented the park and that the railroad tracks were a danger, according to the suit.

Allison Chapman claims the defendants failed to keep a careful lookout and failed to slow or stop the train before striking her daughter.

The defendants also failed to erect and/or maintain a sufficient barrier between the park property and the railroad tracks, according to the suit.

Allison Chapman is seeking judgment in an amount in excess of the basic jurisdictional limits. She is being represented by R. Matthew Vital and Matthew R. Oliver.

The case has been assigned to Circuit Judge Darrell Pratt.

Wayne Circuit Court case number: 11-C-098