by Tess Wolfe
Reporter
Munroe Falls -- Interfering with the functioning of a railroad track is hazardous, said local and state officials.
According to Munroe Falls Police Chief Scott Bellinger, copper wire is used to provide power to devices along the track.
Such devices include crossing gates.
"Over the years, different individuals have taken the wire when it was hot," said Bellinger. "One individual approximately three years ago was electrocuted."
That individual, who was attempting to steal copper wire near the same area of the tracks as the location of the March 21 theft, died from the electrocution, according to Bellinger.
Stu Nicholson, public information officer for the Ohio Rail Development Commission, said individuals attempting to steal metal wire from the tracks place both themselves and those operating trains along the track in danger.
"The immediate safety issue is that if you remove the wire, you take that [train] signal down," Nicholson said. "That can cause a malfunction in the signal system that can cause an accident."
In addition, individuals attempting such theft potentially place themselves in the vicinity of an operating train, he explained.
"There is no winner [in a collision] between a train and something else," said Nicholson. "They are putting themselves at risk."
Although he did not have specific data regarding recent trends of metal theft from railroad tracks, Nicholson said such incidents are "way up."
"It's a huge problem," said Nicholson. "You have both theft of opportunity and thieves who are well-organized."
Because the CSX tracks running through the area of Munroe Falls are networked into a main line for the railroad company, he said it is impossible for a potential thief to know whether a train is about to come along and create a live electric current in the copper wire that operates the railroad track's signals.
"In snipping the live wires, you don't get a second chance," he said of the deadly potential for electrocution. "That's all she wrote."
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