Railroaders place to shoot the shit.

Edie Bolanos, 32, and her two daughters, Crystal Bolanos, 11, and Anahi Bolanos, 8, died after their minivan was hit Sept. 1, 2007, by two trains at the rail crossing at Johnson Avenue and Hudson Street in Hammond.

Her two sons, Leon Verduzco, then 13, and Daniel Rodriguez Jr., then 3, were also in the minivan but survived.

The lawsuit has been filed on behalf of Bolanos' mother, Debra Avila, and the four children, claiming Leon and Daniel have suffered lifelong medical harm, and both of them and Avila have monetary loss from the deaths of Crystal and Anahi.

Video from a surveillance camera showed Bolanos driving in a South Shore Line parking lot and then making a turn onto Johnson just in front of an eastbound train.

Police said at the time it appeared Bolanos was racing the train in order to cross the tracks before the train got to the intersection first.

However, another train was headed west and struck Bolanos' minivan, which was then hit next by the eastbound train. Bolanos, Crystal, Anahi and Daniel were all thrown from the minivan. Crystal and Anahi were pronounced dead at the scene, and Bolanos died a few days later.

The suit claims that CSX should have installed crossing arms at the crossing section to help protect people.

It also says the train operators did not blare their horns, which could have alerted Bolanos to the oncoming trains, and that the trains were speeding. The crossing had flashing lights installed at the time of the accident.

CSX had signed an agreement with the city of Hammond a few years before the accident to reroute trains to another line south of where the accident occurred. However, it had not completed the process yet because of finances.

That section had not been known for accidents, though, because of the clear visibility, Stan Dostatni, then engineer for Hammond, said at the time.

(This item appeared in the Post-Tribune Aug. 19, 2009.)