James ZEMANEK

MAY 1993 - 17 MAY 2008

• BIRTH: MAY 1993, Hanna, La Porte, Indiana
• DEATH: 17 MAY 2008, Hanna, La Porte, Indiana

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[N17154] Victim's Mother Had Accident At Same Site
Family now in mourning, but was set to celebrate James Zemanek's 15th birthday today.
Posted: Saturday, May 17, 2008 12:00 am
By Laurie Wink

HANNA - Today is James Zemanek's birthday and his parents planned to give him the remaining $150 he owed on a new hunting bow as a present. But instead of celebrating James' 15th birthday, Cindy and Dan Zemanek are mourning his death in a train accident Saturday that also took the lives of his best friend, Brandon Hughes, along with Chans Garling.
Member's Advantage Credit Union . The pickup truck the three boys were riding in collided with a Norfolk Southern freight train at about 6:45 a.m. at the same crossing on County Road 250 West where Cindy Zemanek had an accident five years ago, on June 2.The railroad crossing is marked only by stop signs and crossbucks. No flashing lights or gate arms signal an approaching train. Drivers approaching the tracks from either side emerge from heavily wooded sections of 250 West, making it difficult to see down the tracks. Cindy Zemanek had her train accident as she was heading to work in Valparaiso. The train caught the edge of a front license plate on her car that says, "Big Mama." Her car spun around but she emerged with a bump on the head and a bruised chest from the seat belt. She said she took her case to county officials and the railroad but nothing at the crossing was changed until just recently, when part of the dirt embankment on one side was shaved off. It was the same side of the tracks that the pickup truck with the three boys landed in. La Porte County Sheriff Mike Mollenhauer doubts crossing gates will be installed.
"I really don't think so," he said. "We have a lot of crossings in this county that don't have those automatic signals." James Zemanek was only about a quarter mile from home when the accident occurred. The three teens were in a pickup truck heading south to the Zemanek house, following a sleepover at the home of Dakota Thomas. The Zemaneks were surrounded by family and friends Saturday evening as they grieved for the loss of the three teenagers. Across the road, a low wood fire still burned from Friday night, when James and some friends had a bonfire. Cindy Zemanek remembers the last thing her son said to her, after she OK'ed the bonfire, was, "Thanks, Mom. You're the best. I love you." James had just returned home from the Junior High Ball at South Central High School. She talked about how handsome he looked in the suit he wore to the dance, and how happy he was. "He's born again in Christ and I know he's at home with the Lord," Cindy said. "He was a very loving child, and a good worker. He mowed the lawn for a neighbor and just got another part-time job."
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