One Year Later, A Small Reminder of Tragedy Posted on CSX Bridge

Aug. 21, 2013 is the one year anniversary of the tragic deaths of Elizabeth Nass and Rose Mayr, the two Ellicott City teenagers killed when the CSX train that passes through the Historic District derailed.

On Wednesday morning a new painting was posted on the side of the bridge, facing Baltimore County. It reads: ECN - RLM FOREVER IN OUR HEARTS 8.21.12.

The painting is a small reminder of the train derailment that killed the two 19-year-olds as they sat on the CSX bridge, not knowing their innocent transgression would cost them their lives.

In Wednesday's Baltimore Sun, the families of the two girls reflected on what life has been like since the accident. The article notes that with the help of family, friends and community support they have learned how to handle the emotion that stems from thinking about the tragedy.

The National Transportation Board is still actively investigating the accident and has not yet released a final report. 

"We investigate until the investigation is finished," said Eric Weiss, a spokesperson for NTSB.

An initial investigation found that the train's emergency braking was activated just before the derailment when a pressurized air brake line ruptured, but the cause of the rupture and the derailment is unknown, according to the Sun.

Robert Hall, the director of the office of railroad for NTSB, published a blog post about non-passenger railroad casualties on Tuesday that referenced the Ellicott City derailment.

"Two college students had walked into this area to sit on the railroad bridge; apparently they were texting and chatting before returning to their college classes later in August," wrote Hall. "While their intent seems innocent, their actions broke the law, since railroad tracks are private property. It also place them ing rave danger. When the CSX train derailed, some of its coal spilled over the bridge, killing both of them."

Hall wrote that in 2012 843 people were killed or injured near railroad tracks, and through May of 2013, another 356 non-passenger railroad injured have occurred.

The blog was later taken down from NTSB's Safety Compass site. NTSB spokesperson Kelly Nantel said in an email, "We decided to post the blog for a day, to highlight the seriousness of trespassing and the resulting dangers, and then take it down so as not to add to the families' pain during [t]his tough first anniversary."

It's unclear how long the memorial painting will remain on the CSX bridge. A more permanent memorial—two park benches in Ellicott City's Tiber Park—were dedicated to Elizabeth Nass and Rose Mayr last week.