LARIMORE, N.D. (KFGO-AM) More details are coming out regarding Monday's fatal school bus-train collision near Larimore. The student who died in the collision has been identified as Cassidy Sandstrom, 17, of Emerado. The bus driver was previously indentified as 62 year-old Max Danner of Gilby.
The first people on the scene were Richard and Susan Lunski. The crossing where it happened is just a few hundred yards from their front door. They heard the crash and ran out to find kids laying on the ground and several people dead. Richard Lunski says his wife grabbed blankets and they carried some of the injured children to their vehicle to await ambulances. He also pulled one child from beneath the bus engine compartment.
It's not the first tragedy the Lunski's have dealt with at the crossing. Six years ago, they ran to the aid of a Larimore man whose car was struck by a train. That man died in the crash. A memorial to the victim, Fred Friederich, stands near the crossing, tended to by his widow.
Both Lunski and Gale Friederich have tried to get improved safety measures installed but nobody listened. They say rail traffic has increased as a result of Bakken oil shipments and something has to be done before there's another crash. Lunski ays "the little town of Larimore needs help" and should not have to deal with this.