Train accidents often occur because of human error, problems with the track, equipment, and/or signal. Oftentimes many people are injured because of train accidents. There are many factors that lead to a railroad accident and there are many people who may be liable. It is the responsibility of the railroad company to maintain the tracks and the train. But truck and car drivers are responsible if they do not follow laws that are intended to protect against accidents. People who are injured in train accidents may be compensated for their injury, lost income, and pain and suffering.
Whittier was a small town, founded in 1881 by Clark Whittier when he purchased 60,000 acres (240 km²) of land in the area, and is now an unincorporated community in western North Carolina. It was incorporated as a town from 1887 to 1933, when the Great Depression took the lumber industry boom (which began in the 1900s) down with it. The town was located on the railroad and the Tuckasegee River, between Bryson City downstream to the west, and Dillsboro upstream to the southeast. It straddles the county line between Jackson County to its east and Swain County to the west.