Granite City mom sues railroad after teen loses legs to train
A Granite City mother is suing Norfolk Southern and raising questions about whether the railroad company is doing enough to protect the community. Her daughter lost both legs at age 13 after being run over by a train in a 2024 rail crossing accident.
Misty Scott filed the lawsuit April 24 in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Illinois. She is seeking damages for Serenity McMillan’s physical injuries, as well as her other daughter’s emotional distress from witnessing the accident and emergency double amputation performed by first-responders.
Scott was also at the scene and suffered emotional distress and psychological trauma, according to the complaint.
Norfolk Southern had not yet filed a response to the lawsuit in federal court as of Friday.
Attorneys for the company and the family did not immediately respond to a request for further comment on the litigation.
Scott identified her daughter Serenity as the victim of the train accident in a GoFundMe campaign she set up at the time to help the family with expenses. The lawsuit identifies the sisters only by their initials.
Lawsuit describes rail crossing accident
The family’s complaint details how the accident happened on Friday, April 5, 2024.
The two sisters, who were 13 and 12 at the time, and a friend, who was 13, had been walking from their home to the Granite City Soccer Complex around 6:30 p.m. They went through Norfolk Southern’s AO Smith rail yard on Missouri Avenue, where a train sat stationary.
The train did not move for 10 to 15 minutes, so the children decided to walk between the rail cars by climbing across the platform built into the end of a tank car.
The tank car lurched forward as Serenity was crossing, and she fell between the moving cars, which ran over her legs, crushing them.
Emergency responders had to amputate both of Serenity’s legs at the scene because she was stuck in a switch on the tracks and another train was approaching.
There had been no warning that the train was about to move, such as the sounding of a whistle or flashing lights, the family alleges.
Railroad company accused of negligence
The family argues in its complaint that the rail yard sits in the middle of a residential area, causing pedestrians to cut through it frequently to get from neighborhoods to schools, public parks and other recreational facilities.
They allege Norfolk Southern contributed to that foot traffic by closing or blocking pedestrian crossings to the north and south of the rail yard.
“The closure of these alternative crossings left residents with no reasonable alternative but to cross through the rail yard,” the complaint states. It also notes an absence of fences or no-trespassing signs in the rail yard to try to stop pedestrians from passing through.
The family is accusing Norfolk Southern of negligence for failing to prevent the 2024 accident.
The company employs engineers, conductors and other employees tasked with ensuring the tracks are clear of pedestrians and obstacles before a train is allowed to move, according to the complaint. It states that the company also employs railroad police and maintains a surveillance camera that would make them aware of the presence of children.
