TRAIN KEEPS ON TRUCKIN’
A Union Pacific locomotive slammed into an 18-wheel tractor-trailer Friday afternoon at U.S. 90A and Harlem Road near Richmond, but the driver of the truck escaped injuries, law enforcement officials said. “The train hit the 18-wheeler and split it in half,” said a spokeswoman for the Texas Department of Public Safety, which is investigating the accident. “There were no injuries, no derailment. The train is still drivable,” although glass in the locomotive windshield was smashed. The accident occurred at about 3:30 p.m., said Fort Bend County Sheriff’s spokeswoman Terriann Carlson. After impact, the driver of the tractor-trailer “got out of the truck and was shaken” but apparently uninjured, as police officers on the scene did not request an ambulance. It was unclear why the 18-wheeler was straddling the tracks when the train approached. No further details of the incident were immediately available from DPS or the sheriff’s department. Union Pacific spokesman Joe Arbano said the 148-car train was carrying grain westbound from Beaumont to Robstown, and also reported no serious injuries from the accident. Arbano said crews were on the scene working to make sure the train didn’t block roadways any longer than necessary. However, he added, railroad officials are required to download information from a locomotive’s “black box” after any accident – before the locomotive can be moved. Such information includes train speed and the number of times the horn was blown, he said. The man had packed up all his belongings and loaded them into the moving truck, including his Lexus! He was moving to New York from Texas.