Union Pacific Makes Decision On Pursuing Legal Action Against Accident Victim
By: Anna Herod
Union Pacific Railroad officials have decided not to press trespassing charges against a man who was hit by a train April 8.Martin Manzi, San Marcos Police Department commander; Brian Beach, SMPD officer, and Louis Tudyk, Union Pacific Railroad police officer, discuss details of the accident April 8 that occurred near Jowers Center.
The man was hit at the Charles Austin Drive crossing around 4 p.m. and was taken to University Hospital in San Antonio.
Jeff DeGraff, spokesman for Union Pacific Railroad, said officials considered ticketing or citing the man for illegally crossing the tracks. However, officials have decided not to pursue legal action at this time.
The man is still in the hospital for injuries sustained from the accident, DeGraff said.
“Union Pacific officials have determined that the train was traveling at approximately 21 miles per hour at the time of the accident,” DeGraff said.
Warning sounds made by the train were likely unheard by the man because he was wearing headphones while crossing a restricted area of the railroad.
“If you’re going to be anywhere near a train or railroad tracks, we ask you to take the earphones out so that you can pay attention whether you’re walking in a designated crossing area or somewhere else,” DeGraff said.
He said Union Pacific officials want people to know walking across or alongside railroads is “inherently dangerous.”
“A train coming down the tracks is not able to stop as quickly as a car might, and they certainly cannot swerve out of the way if someone is on the track in front of them,” DeGraff said.
Pieces of a freight train can extend up to six feet away from the railroad tracks, according to the Union Pacific Railroad website.
“Even alongside of (tracks) can be very dangerous,” DeGraff said. “We try to educate people to stay away from them.”
Anna Herod is a senior news reporter for the University Star where this story originally published, and reprinted here through a news partnership between the University Star and Corridor News.
