Aerial Photo Multi View, Lafayette, LA

After two teenage boys were fatally struck on a railroad bridge by a train, attorneys for the railroad asked Fay Engineering to assist them in analyzing and reconstructing the accident, and to prepare a precise visual re-creation of the events for presentation in court.

Working closely with the client to define the requirements of the visualization, Fay engineers employed state-of-the-art technologies and developed innovative methodologies to visually represent the accident's exact time, distance and motion issues together on one screen.

Instead of relying purely upon 'expertise', Fay used evidence directly from the case to generate the graphic elements for the visualization.  An aerial photograph of the accident site and surrounding area was utilized as the background.  The train's own data recorder was utilized to define the train's motion and was also employed to accurately re-construct the brake application and horn sequences.

In the visualization, the top of the screen shows the overall view of the entire area, including  the last crossing before the railroad bridge.  Close-up views of the locomotive and pedestrian locations are shown in oval windows in the center of the screen, with various colors used to precisely represent the timing and sequence of the horn and braking actions that took place.

The train changes color to indicate the state of the brakes.  The train is green when there is no braking.  It turns orange when the service brake is applied, and red in Engineer Induced Emergency.

To show exactly when the horn was sounded, a horn icon appears and teh oval border around the train glows yellow.  The positions of the pedestrians on the bridge are indicated by colored arrows.

Fay engineers ensured that the accident re-construct and visualization were scientifically accurate.

As a result, the visualization was accepted in court without challenge due ot its basis on irrefutable evidence - helping the railroad attorneys demonstrate the necessary facts to present their case and achieve a defense verdict.