Mother nature can be a strong and powerful thing. Yet, when people underestimate her power and what she can do, she is not afraid to remind them. 

On Saturday, February 12, 2022, a train just outside of Denver derailed due to snow on the tracks. After a nasty winter storm had swept over Colorado, many places in and around Denver experienced heavy snowfall. It was this heavy snowfall that interfered with the train causing seven of its cargo cars to derail claims CBS Denver.

Luckily there were no injuries or deaths reported Jay Casillas, a local Denver Police officer. However, three cargo cars did fall into the South Platte River causing the Denver Parks and Recreation Department to close the South Platte River Hiking Trail until crews were able to clean up the wreckage. For several days, workers waded through icy waters and used tractors to pull the derailed cars out of the river.

Tim Bury, a local resident who witnessed the derailed train commented that it was “Pretty wild to see something of that size and structure just fall off.”

The damage wasn’t extreme, and workers were able to clean up the mess in order to open the South Platte River Hiking Trail up again for unhappy civilians that hadn’t been able to use it.

Unfortunately, this is BNSF’s second incident this month. Earlier this month, an employee was hit and killed by a train on part of the BNSF Railway, North of Coors field. However, it is unclear of the circumstances and reasoning behind the man being killed. In response to this, BNSF released a statement reading, “The entire BNSF family is saddened by this incident, and we extend our deepest sympathy and thoughts to the family and loved ones of the employee involved.”

As one can see, BNSF has had its run of bad luck this month. In fact, there are people such as Richard McCue who are beginning to think that perhaps this is not coincidental, but rather “a sign that perhaps BNSF is not following the necessary regulations and protocols”, which would explain the recent death of an employee and the derailment of seven cars. However, nothing has been proven, and, as of now, the two separate incidents are considered unlucky coincidences.