City 'working to address' years of concrete blocks falling from near south side railway bridge

INDIANAPOLIS - An investigation into mysterious falling debris from a near south side Indianapolis bridge is now underway, according to a city spokesperson.




The issue of concrete chunks hitting cars below the CSX railway bridge over Madison Avenue near East Raymond St. dates back years, and on Tuesday morning alone - at least three drivers reported damage due to falling, or thrown, concrete within a span of three hours.




Concrete chunks currently sit at the base of the bridge much like the ones reportedly landing on cars. But our reporting goes back to at least 2017 - when falling debris damaged an IMPD squad car. Multiple witnesses including an officer saw people on the bridge at the time and suspected they threw chunks of concrete.




Eight years later, the questions remain - where is the debris coming from, and who's responsible for any damage or injuries?




"Things cannot just break off and be available for people to throw off the side of a railroad track or off the side of a roadway. There should not be that issue," said Dan Chamberlain, a personal injury lawyer with CohenMalad LLP. "The second thing is, you need to have police presence."




The short answer, Chamberlain said, is the responsibility is shared - from the government agencies in charge of inspections, to CSX with the power to secure its own property, to the trespassers who may be throwing the concrete.




"They shouldn't be up there in the first place," Chamberlain said. "But even if they're up there, that doesn't account for the dozens of complaints and problems that everybody's attributed to bad concrete or poor design or poor maintenance that has caused these injuries. It's just a matter of time before somebody gets killed."




"I thought I had been shot and I said, 'I'm dead,'" recalled Andrew Helton.




Helton was injured and knocked unconscious by one of those concrete chunks while driving under the same bridge in 2020. He said he's not surprised to hear of more victims because the site hasn't gotten any clearer of debris.




"That's where I believe the neglect is at," Helton said. "They've been throwing stones from that same pile of rubble for this long."




In a statement, a city of Indianapolis spokesperson confirmed multiple agencies are looking into the problem.

The City is aware of and actively working to address this issue. Despite this bridge being owned by CSX, DPW has been repeatedly inspecting this and nearby bridges for signs of potential deterioration. IMPD has an open investigation into reports of suspected vandalism and continues to encourage anyone who sees suspicious or criminal activity in the area to call 9-1-1.

City of Indianapolis spokesperson

"We continue to urge the community who sees anyone involved in suspicious behavior or committing criminal acts to contact 911," said an IMPD spokesperson. "We also ask that anyone with knowledge of suspicious or criminal activity to reach out to the IMPD with the information."




Finally, a CSX spokesperson shared the following statement.

Railroads are privately owned property, and any unauthorized activity is considered criminal trespassing. Given the extensive national rail network, local law enforcement agencies are empowered to enforce trespass violations on railroad property. CSX takes criminal activity on our property very seriously and appreciates the valuable partnerships we have with local law enforcement, who are crucial when it comes to investigating incidents and prosecuting individuals responsible for crimes.

CSX spokesperson

CSX's latest statement still didn't address FOX59/CBS4's questions about what the company itself can do to put an end to the issue, while some of the people impacted by it have waited years for concrete answers.




"I don't know who to point the finger at but CSX and the city sound pretty good to me," Helton added.



via: https://fox59.com/news/city-working-to-address-years-of-concrete-blocks-falling-from-near-south-side-railway-bridge/