Ghostly Reality

A man searching for a legendary “ghost train” was killed when a real locomotive came down the tracks and hit him.Christopher Kaiser, 29, had gathered with around 12 others on the anniversary of a crash that happened near Statesville, North Carolina at 3am on Aug 27, 1891.
The crash 119 years ago saw seven carriages fall off a rail bridge into a ravine and 30 people died. 

According to local legend the sounds of the accident, including the whistle of the train and the screams of passengers, can be heard again on the anniversary and each year people go to listen. On the centenary of the crash in 1991 more than 150 people turned up.
Mr Kaiser was waiting on a trestle at 2.45am when the real train, which consisted of three locomotives, came round a bend.
The ghost hunters began running back along the trestle and most of them made it the 150ft to safety.
According to witnesses Mr Kaiser pushed a woman with him to safety.
She fell at least 30ft from the trestle and was being treated for injuries. Another person was also injured.
A police spokesman said: “During the investigation, witnesses told deputies they were at the site in hopes of seeing a 'ghost train.’ “Twelve people, who were amateur ghost hunters, were caught on the trestle when the train rounded the bend. All indications at this point are this is an accident.”

Hot Relaxation

A "motivation day" organized by one of Italy's biggest real estate agencies has ended in tears and injuries when nine staff had to be treated in hospital after walking barefoot on a bed of hot coals. Alessandro Di Priamo, a motivational trainer for companies, said that the nine salespeople from the Tecnocasa agency had suffered light burns and none were seriously hurt. Doctors said the injuries could take up to 10 days to heal.
"Fire walking helps people overcome their fears, seek new challenges and understand that most of what they see as their limits are self-inflicted," Mr Di Priamo said. He said the hotel near Rome where the exercise was held used the wrong kind of wood and some artificial coal without him knowing. "I have done this job for 12 years with thousands of people and never had a problem. I myself walked first on that bed of burning coals and didn't feel anything - in fact that same evening I went for a 16 km run," he said.

Serafino Bisirri, the manager of the Villa Icidia hotel, denied responsibility for the incident. "If the wood wasn't the right sort, whose responsibility was that? Mr Di Priamo was the conductor of this particular orchestra. I mean, it's not as if I go walking on burning coals," he told the Guardian.

Missed Map

An American woman, Lauren Rosenberg, is suing Google, the search engine giant, because she was hit by a car after following its "safe" online mapping service. Rosenberg, is claiming damages from Google because she was injured while taking a "safe" route recommended by it.
According to her claim filed, she sustained injuries and "emotional suffering" from the accident, which occurred after she following directions on her BlackBerry. According to her lawsuit, Google Maps had led her to a highway without sidewalks that was "not reasonably safe for pedestrians".

Accident prone

A farm worker, Mick Wilary, who is thought to be one of Britain’s most accident prone men has been injured again.
In the latest in a long line of injury mishaps, the 58 year-old is recovering in hospital after his legs were crushed under a JCB. It follows breaks to both ankles, after he fell over a potato, and cracking his head open by tripping over a cat. He has also fallen out of a raised bucket of a JCB, and was left with a broken collar bone when the horse he was riding got spooked by a plastic bag. In total the grandfather-of-two has racked up more than 30 injuries, including 15 broken bones.

Nearly half-a-million road accidents a year are caused by women drivers applying make-up behind the wheel, a new survey discloses.
Around one fifth of the female motorists confess they have touched up their mascara on the move ­ equivalent to 3.2 million of Britain's 15 million women drivers. The poll of more than 4,000 drivers by women's motor insurance group Diamond comes a year after the introduction of a new offense of causing death by careless driving, which carries a prison term of up to two years. Previously, careless driving offenses ­ including applying make-up, eating and map-reading ­ were punishable only by a fine.