I guess I’ll take your word for it but an investigation doesn’t have to be in response to a crime.
Civil matters can have investigations too and I am having a difficult time imagining a car insurance claim involving a train wreck not requiring a police report, which I am guessing normally involves an investigation.
In any accident, someone, maybe more than one, is a fault and all the legalities hinge on an investigation to find out who done it.
Does a railroad have the authority to issue citations to truckers who drive in front of trains?
Not that I know of but hell if I know. It seems to me it’d be whomever’s local jurisdiction it is, as to who would conduct the accident investigation. Highway patrol, city police, county sheriff, etc.
The big railroad operations do have internal law enforcement (I think under the federal DOT) but I was under the impression they concentrated more on things like theft or damage to the rail cars or tracks, etc. I guess it is possible that since RR are often treated differently than roads, a “crime” committed there would fall under the RR’s law enforcement jurisdiction. I still don’t see how there wouldn’t be a criminal investigation to see who was at fault in an accident and I don’t just mean between the driver and train operator.
It still boils down to authority. In a crossing accident, the only authority the LEO has is over the car driver. Maybe an analogy is in order. If you drive across an airport runway and get hit by an airliner, does the local PD investigate? No. They respond, and probably even make a report - but investigation is done by the DOT. Same with trains.
Now, if I, while operating the train, shoot some passing car driver out the window - then the local PD gets to have their way with me. It's all about the operation of the train. Locals have zero authority over that.
