Struck Pa. Firefighter Confused by Two Trains at Once

March 25--Amid a crisscross of railroad tracks in North Versailles, Youngwood fire Chief Lloyd Crago watched his search-and-rescue team run their dogs on a hunt for a missing woman on Saturday afternoon.

About 5:45 p.m., Crago saw Edwin "Lance" Wentzel, 57, a 35-year veteran and his best friend, walking on a narrow roadway between two sets of railroad tracks.

"We knew trains were there; we had been in the area for a couple of hours looking. There were train tracks as far as you could see," Crago said.

As a Norfolk Southern train headed toward Wentzel on one track, a second train on another track approached from behind him.

"I was at the command post, watching," Crago said. "There was a whistle from the train behind him, and you could feel that whistle. Lance must have thought it was coming from the train in front of him, but it was the other one."

"He moved over toward the other track and he was struck by the (train) behind him ... the one that blew the whistle," he said.

Wentzel died at the scene.

As condolences streamed in from fire departments across the country on Monday, Crago described the afternoon his "best friend of 30 years" died.

"It was nobody's fault. It was just a terrible, tragic accident," he said.

The Youngwood crew was helping in the search for Ruth Ann Mullennix, 55, of Wilmerding, who has been missing since March 17. Bloodhounds and a swift-water rescue crew found her coat and cellphone on Thursday. They returned on Saturday to Mullennix's last known location.

"We got down there a couple of hours before the accident, and the first train that came through was a car carrier and it was just flying," Crago said. "We met with East Pittsburgh police at the site and they said they'd notify the railroad, and the rest of the afternoon the trains all slowed down."

Norfolk Southern spokesman David Pidgeon on Monday repeated his previous statements that no one notified the railroad the search would resume in North Versailles on Saturday.

"Neither the railroad police nor the NS Pittsburgh dispatch center were notified on Saturday before the search team resumed its search on Norfolk Southern's property," he said.

The only record the railroad has is related to the search conducted there on Thursday, he said.

"And NS stopped all traffic in compliance with that request. The search team withdrew that request about three hours later, at 3:23 a.m., at which point Norfolk Southern resumed normal train operations," Pidgeon said.

"It's certainly a tragedy and our condolences go out to the family of the fallen firefighter, that fire department and certainly our own train crew who were involved. Safety is a priority of NS and we have procedures in place with emergency responders," he said.

North Versailles police have turned over the investigation to Allegheny County Police. County police confirmed they have assumed the investigation but provided no details.

Pidgeon said the locomotive was equipped with an event recorder that documents data about the train's operation and performance, including its speed.

"We're working to pass that information along to investigators," he said.

Crago said investigators interviewed him on Saturday.

"I just can say what a great guy and great firefighter Lance was. ... He was just always here for this department, and we'll really miss him," he said.

He said the department has been "overwhelmed" by the response to Wentzel's death. Westmoreland County officials made grief counselors available to firefighters on Saturday evening in the fire station, where they gathered to hear the news of Wentzel's death.

"It's been really tough. Lance was so well liked," Crago said.

"Locally and across the nation, the outpouring of sympathy has been amazing. We've gotten hundreds of calls from Santa Monica, Calif.; Rhode Island; West Virginia -- just about everywhere in the country," he said.

Fire departments in the region have lowered their American flags to half-staff. Numerous notes of sympathy have been posted on the department's Facebook page.

Wentzel is survived by his wife, Judy; sons Chris and Jeremy; stepsons Justin and Jason Vestrand; and several grandchildren. His family declined to comment.

Funeral arrangements are being handled by the C. Richard McCauley Funeral Home, 101 S. Fourth St., Youngwood. Services will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday in Science Hall at Westmoreland County Community College.

Paul Peirce is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 724-850-2860 or ppeirce@tribweb.com.

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