By Diane Daily
Investigators are trying to determine what lead to a fatal train accident Monday night. Bloomington Police were called to the train tracks near the intersection of Hopewell and West 7th Street around 10:30 Monday evening after reports that a pedestrian might have been hit by an Indiana Railroad freight train. Police and Bloomington Fire Department personnel searched the tracks and found the body of a 58-year-old man who was later pronounced dead at the scene. The engineer told officers that he had seen something in the middle of the tracks just before the accident. He slammed on the brakes and blew the train’s horn, but there was no response. The man’s identity is being withheld following notification of his family.
Indiana Governor Joe Kernan may soon by honored with a bust in the Indiana Statehouse. The Indiana Senate has unanimously adopted a resolution honoring his life and memory. He served as the state’s lieutenant governor for six years before assuming the role of governor when Frank O’Bannon died in 2003. Joe Kernan was a U.S. Navy veteran and spent 11 months as a prisoner of war in Vietnam. He died in 2020 at age 74.
Local small businesses, community organizations and non-profit groups are encouraged to apply for funding this spring to improve building efficiency. The City of Bloomington’s Department of Economic and Sustainable Development is providing grant funding of up to $25-thousand. Eligible projects include LED conversion, ventilation and cooling projects and water heater upgrades. Grant applications will be accepted starting next Wednesday.
Authorities in Pennsylvania say a 77-year-old man is lucky to have received only minor injuries after his car flipped sideways in local car wash. The man apparently hit the gas by accident causing the Toyota Camry to flip onto its side. Firefighters worked for about 90 minutes before they were able to get the driver out of the car by peeling the roof back. He was taken to a nearby hospital for treatment of leg injuries.
