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Tragedy spurs physician to railroad safety crusade

The loss of a daughter leads an Illinois doctor to push for more protection at railroad crossings.

By Damon Adams, amednews staff. Feb. 18, 2002.

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Community Spirit
An occasional series exploring how physicians take extra steps to ensure the well-being of those in need. Contribute

If he beat the train, he would be on time. That's what 17-year-old Luke Wilson was thinking as he raced his Jeep on a street adjacent to the roaring train. Crossing the tracks before the train arrived and avoiding the wait at the railroad crossing would make his sister Lauren, 14, on time for dress rehearsal of her school play, "The Phantom Tollbooth."

Luke and Lauren didn't make it.

As Luke swerved around the lowered crossing gate and onto the tracks, the train smashed into the Jeep's passenger side, killing Lauren and seriously injuring Luke.

Losing his precious brown-haired, bubbly daughter that day nearly eight years ago started Lanny Wilson, MD, on a crusade to prevent deaths at railroad crossings.

When he first heard the news of Lauren's death, Dr. Wilson couldn't believe his daughter was dead. "People don't get killed at railroad crossings," he thought to himself. He was devastated but continued to practice as an ob-gyn in Hinsdale, Ill., a suburb of Chicago. Caring for his patients helped distract him from his misery.

Within two months of the March 1994 crash, Dr. Wilson was leading his community to improve safety at railroad crossings. Today, through the DuPage (County) Railroad Safety Council that he chairs, he advocates safety measures designed to prevent train-vehicle collisions.

"There is a tragedy waiting to happen," he warns. "If I can help prevent even one family from having to live through this tragedy, then all my work is worthwhile." [...]