You never knew when or how long a train might block the Maple Street crossing, the only way in or out of the neighborhood where Gene and Linda Byrd lived on the edge of their town. When 66-year-old Gene got out of bed with chest pains and collapsed around 1 a.m. on Sept. 6, 2020, the EMTs who responded to the 911 call were blocked by an idling BNSF freight train. When a cop pleaded with the conductor to move the rig, he refused. Several minutes passed before the train finally moved and the ambulance arrived at the Byrds’ house, Linda said recently, fighting back tears as she recalled the night she lost her husband of 48 years. “They put him on the board,” she said. “I don’t know if he was breathing at that point.” Medical treatment has come too late for countless others when parked or plodding trains blocked ambulance crews from getting people the help they needed in time, The Star found in a months-long investigation. Delayed at blocked crossings, fire trucks have also arrived too...