Richie Geiger, 59, was crossing the railroad tracks at South Meridian Avenue in his motorized wheelchair on Oct. 21 when the chair appeared to falter. He was unable to clear the tracks before an oncoming train struck and killed him; bystanders tried to help.
Puyallup police have closed their criminal investigation and determined Geiger’s death was a “tragic accident,” according to KIRO 7. A separate report from Yahoo News identified him as Richard Geiger; KIRO 7 called him Richie Geiger. Both reports said he was 59 and was crossing in his electric wheelchair when he was hit.
Neighbors Tried Everything to Pull Him Free
Diane Drapac told KIRO 7 that she saw Geiger’s wheelchair move unevenly across the tracks and alerted her husband, Joe. Joe Drapac and another man tried to push the wheelchair clear, but it would not move. Joe said he then tried to unbuckle Geiger; they ran out of time before the train arrived.
Geiger's loved ones believed his wheelchair had become stuck while he was crossing the tracks, and Joe Drapac said Geiger's brother-in-law later told him the chair had previously stopped operating on its own. Puyallup police said surveillance video showed the wheelchair starting and stopping intermittently in the moments before the crash, per the same account. Yet investigators told Yahoo News it remains unknown why the wheelchair became immobilized, adding they were confident based on footage that it wasn't a matter of the wheels being caught: “It is unknown why his wheelchair became immobilized, but we are confident based on video footage that it was not a matter of the wheels being stuck.” Yahoo News also reported that the county medical examiner ruled Geiger's death an accident.
A Crossing With a History of Complaints
The crossing had drawn complaints about its surface years before Geiger’s death. The News Tribune reported that a 2012 complaint described it as rough; UTC records show an inspector issued a defect notice and BNSF corrected the problem in April 2013, with an inspector confirming the repair. In 2016, after a complaint that the crossing surface was roughly an inch below the roadway, BNSF removed and reinstalled the concrete pads within about two weeks, according to a company certification submitted to the UTC. The News Tribune reported that the UTC has since received seven more complaints about the crossing, all encouraging some form of safety upgrade.
Residents who spoke with KIRO 7 proposed several safety measures, including reducing train speeds through town, filling crossing gaps with flexible material, building a pedestrian overpass or making the crossings smoother.
Speed Concerns and a City Still Designing Fixes
Residents near the tracks also raised concerns about train speeds in downtown Puyallup. Paul Shutov described the train’s speed at the crossing as frightening, and Justin Peyton said trains seemed to move too fast through town, where many pedestrians cross. Trains continued passing through the South Meridian Avenue crossing throughout the day the story was reported.
BNSF said it has been working with the city on possible crossing modifications and is waiting for the city to complete its design, according to the railroad’s statement to KIRO 7. Yahoo News reported that the city is developing an early-stage conceptual plan for a quiet zone and improvements to city-owned sidewalks and other areas near the tracks. A rail-safety analysis prepared for the City of Puyallup lists enhanced pedestrian and vehicular gates among possible modifications at Meridian Avenue; it does not say that a particular upgrade has been selected or funded.
