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Judge dismisses wrongful death lawsuit against Amtrak

A judge has dismissed a wrongful death lawsuit by a Cary woman whose husband was killed at a Raleigh railroad crossing.

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Jack Daniels
RALEIGH, N.C. — A judge has dismissed a wrongful death lawsuit by a Cary woman whose husband was killed at a Raleigh railroad crossing.

Jack Milton Daniels, 60, was killed on June 9, 2009, when he drove onto the crossing near Royal and Hillsborough streets and his car was hit by an Amtrak train.

Police said Daniels ignored the flashing signal at the crossing and appeared to stop his car in the middle of the crossing.

Nanette Daniels filed a complaint seeking $450,000 in damages from Amtrak's parent company, the National Railroad Passenger Corp., and CSX Transportation Inc., which owns and maintains the rail line.

The lawsuit alleged that the safety arms malfunctioned at the crossing. The arms dropped and then went back up, allowing Jack Daniels to drive onto the crossing, before they dropped again and trapped him, according to the suit.

Federal Judge Terrence Boyle dropped the suit after finding that Nanette Daniels lacks capacity and standing to sue for wrongful death under North Carolina law because she is not the administrator of his estate.

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