Obituary of Troy Deion Young, LaSalle Parish, Louisiana Copied and Submitted by :Kathy LeMay Kelly, P.O. Box 219, Trout, La. 71371 From The Jena Times - Olla Tullos Signal; Jena, LaSalle Parish, La. Wednesday, February 3, 1999; Page 1, 3A & 8A Many Thanks to The Times - Signal for allowing the following to be added to the Archives. ********************************************** Copyright. All rights reserved. http://usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://usgwarchives.net/la/lafiles.htm ********************************************** Page 1 In Olla... Jena man killed as train-truck collide A 35-year-old Jena logger was killed early last Thursday morning, January 28, 1999, when a train struck his log truck in Olla causing it to explode, according to Olla Chief of Police Gary Taylor. Troy Deion Young, 35, of Jena, drove the log truck around a railroad barricade on Cypress Street around 5 a.m., Thursday morning, as a southbound Union Pacific train was approaching, Taylor said. The train struck the truck's cab killing Young instantly. He was pronounced dead at the scene by the LaSalle Parish Coroner's office. "The truck just exploded. There wasn't much left of it," Taylor said. "It was pretty bad." Taylor theorized the Young was trying to get around another train stopped on the dual tracks. "There was a northbound train on the side track. So I think he passed the train and two other crossing that were blocked before going across at Cypress,: he said. Taylor said the train-truck collision was Olla's first traffic fatality in four years. The death becomes the second traffic related fatality in LaSalle Parish for 1999. According to Federal Railroad Administration statistics. Louisiana ranked fourth in the nation in the number of collisions between vehicles and trains at railroad crossings. In 1997, there were 203 such collisions resulting in 30 deaths and 111 injuries. Nationally, there were 3,865 collisions at railroad crossings resulting in 461 fatalities and 1,540 injuries. Operation Livesaver, a non-profit, nationwide education program dedicated to reducing injuries and fatalities at intersections where roadways meet railways, offers the following safety tips (Continued on page 3) for motorist approaching railroad crossings : Never drive around lowered gates. If a malfunctioning gate is suspected, call a local law enforcement agency. Never race a train to the crossing. Do not get trapped on a crossing, only cross when it's possible to make it to the other side completely. Get out of vehicles stalled on a crossing and call a law enforcement agency for assistance. Watch for a second train when crossing multiple tracks. Page 8A Troy Deion Young Troy Deion young, 35, of Jena, died at 5:10 a.m., Thursday, January 28, 1999, in a train-truck accident in Olla. He was a truck driver in the logging industry. Services were held at 2 p.m., Saturday, Jan. 30, at Maranatha Assembly of God Church of Jena with the Revs. Don Boyette and Eddy Thompson officiating. Interment followed in the Heard Cemetery of Manifest under direction of Hixson Brothers Funeral Home of Jena. Survivors include his wife, Wanda Young of Jena; one son, Joshua Cole Bordelon of Jonesville; his mother, Bunny Woods, and step-father, Ronnie Woods of Nebo; his father, Spencer H. Young, Jr. and step-mother, Harriet Young of Grayson; step-daughter, Memrhea Pritchard of Jena; step-son, George Lynn Pritchard of Jonesville; two sisters, Mary Taylor of Jonesville and Becky Ewing of Columbia; and maternal grandparents, Aubrey and Betty Wilks of manifest. Pallbearers were Jackie Stevens, Ronnie Stamper, Johnnie Stamper, Doug Stamper, Chad Jones, Billy Prewitt, Lynn Enterkin, and Roy Lee. Honorary pallbearers were Lynn Smart, Bo Franklin, Kevin Howell, Jason Barrett, and David Ewing.