Tangipahoa Parish councilmen are calling on State and Federal leaders to upgrade safety features at an Amite railroad crossing.
This comes after 23-year-old Dorian Baptiste was tragically killed when the car he was riding in was struck by an Amtrak Wednesday.
“I saw pain as well as anguish, because in my opinion and the opinion of others, that’s something that really could have been avoided,” Tangipahoa Parish Councilman Louis Joseph said. “On behalf of Tangipahoa government, I want to extend sympathy and condolences to the entire Batiste family.”
On Thursday, Joseph partnered with his colleague Councilman Joey Mayeaux to push for safety enhancements at the crossing along Highway 51 and Ponders Quarters Lane once again. Right now, the railroad crossing has signage, but it does not have a flashing warning light system or crossing arms to keep drivers from driving across when a train is coming.
“Hopefully, this is the last time we will have to ask, and we will get the crossing that we need and the signal lights that we need to keep this from happening again,” Mayeaux said.
“That is about the third time to my knowledge that an accident, a fatal accident, has happened at that Ponders crossing,” Joseph said.
According to the Federal Railroad Administration, six collisions happened at this crossing.
The most recent three occurred in 2021, 2022 and Wednesday’s crash March 25.
The railroad crossing is adjacent to a small community consisting mostly of Batiste’s family.
“I know they are in serious mourning losing this young man; it’s a shame that a man has to lose his life like this,” Mayeaux said.
“If I were living there, I would definitely be banging on somebody’s door,” Joseph said, “but I am in a position to bang on the door for them, and I’m going to do.”
WDSU reached out to Canadian National, which is responsible for putting up safety features at railroad crossings, to learn more about the process of determining when a railroad crossing gets signal lights and crossing arms.
However, they did not respond to our request.
While the CN is the lead agency in the design and construction of the rail safety improvements, WDSU also reached out to DOTD, and they sent over this statement:
“DOTD works with the rail industry to progress the railroad safety improvement program that uses federal funds to improve the safety of public crossings statewide.
Regarding this location, there are passive warning devices in place (stop/yield signs and railroad signs) that alert drivers to the presence of the tracks. Additionally, this location has been evaluated and identified to receive active warning devices such as lights and gates. DOTD has worked with the FHWA to provide the funding for the safety improvements, and this funding was dedicated in Aug. 2025. The railroad is the lead agency in the design and construction of the upgrades for this location and ensure they meet the Federal Railroad Administration standards. The railroad is working to initiate the design on these future improvements.”
READ MORE:Deadly train collision leads to calls for railroad crossing safety upgrades
