File 2007.13: Abel v. Union Pacific

Case Type: Railroad Accident

Description:
A truck pulling a trailer carrying a backhoe was struck by a Union Pacific train, killing the driver of the truck. The truck driver's view to the left was impeded by a large mound of dirt and to the right by a thick row of trees.

Phase 1, Pre-Visualization, Measurement & Discovery:
The site of the accident was visited, measurements were conducted, photos gathered and a 3D scanner was used to scan the terrain of the site, track and trees.

Phase 2, Visualizations Produced:
Once the scan data was converted, it was used to generate a 3D polygonal model of the site. Then 3D models of the truck and train were added along with the dirt mound that was modeled using photogrammetry.