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Hometown: Downers Grove
Latest Book: “Railroad Collisions: A Deadly Story of Mismanaged Risk”
Publisher: Createspace
Release Date: November 2015
What’s your book about?
As a citizen advocate, I have spent more than 20 years investigating the causes behind railroad collisions. What I discovered was a tangled mess of both inadvertent and intentional mismanagement. In ‘Railroad Collisions,” I fault the railroads themselves for poor risk management, but the industry is by no means the only culpable party. The Federal Railroad Administration’s timid dealings with railroad companies impairs meaningful changes, while the National Transportation Safety Board’s findings in many of their accident investigations are questionable. I support these arguments with concrete examples, interviews with locomotive engineers, railroad safety professionals and others, and extensive research.
Where did the idea come from?
More than 20 years of being a member of the DuPage Railroad Safety Council and as a citizen advocate investigating train accidents. In the book I not only address the causes of collisions, but I also interview several family members of those killed in railroad accidents.
What genre is your book, and why were you drawn to it?
This is a sensitive, well-researched, hard-hitting nonfiction book. For more than 20 years, I have felt there are far too many rail collisions, and overall there is a poor job of managing risk.
Who is the intended audience?
The railroads, those who ride on railroads, railfans, accident victims and their families, and the general public.
Why is this story important to you?
My involvement in rail safety began in 1989. I was being rushed to Hinsdale Hospital after an auto accident. In the ambulance I was riding in, the radio was blaring – paramedics from a different accident site were trying to save a young boy who had been struck by a Metra train. They were talking to doctors. Jonathan Goers, the young boy, lived many years disabled, cognitively functioning as an infant, and blinded by the accident. He died in February 2016.
How long did it take you to write? What was your process?
About five years. I would write and research for many continuous hours and days. Then, I would put it down for what seemed like several months, thinking I would never finish it. Then, I would start the cycle all over again.
What did you enjoy most about writing this book? What was the hardest part?
Completing it and being so, so proud of what I had done. It was hard emotionally with many highs and some lows. For example, five people spent many hours helping edit the book. They volunteered their time. They were drawn to what I was doing, and without their support the finished manuscript would have not reached the level I believe it has. I also interviewed many people who gave of their time, knowledge and emotions. Without them, the book would not have reached the level I believe it has.
How are you publishing this book and why (traditional/indie/self-publishing)?
I am an indie through Createspace.
What is your education/background?
I am a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) with various insurance licenses, investment adviser, Certified Nursing Assistant (CNA) and author.
Who are your favorite authors?
Ralph Nader, Ernest Hemingway
What’s next for you?
Marketing the book with the ultimate hope that, somehow, it will improve railroad
safety.