Metro is looking into a light rail crash that shut down part of its Southeast Line earlier today. As Gail Delaughter reports from the News 88.7 Transportation Desk, officials believe it was caused by a driver making an illegal turn. Laboring in the hot sun, crews had to pull the wreckage
Gail Delaughter | Posted on August 31, 2016, 3:42 PM (Last Updated: August 31, 2016, 6:00 PM)
Metro is looking into a light rail crash that shut down part of its Southeast Line earlier today. As Gail Delaughter reports from the News 88.7 Transportation Desk, officials believe it was caused by a driver making an illegal turn.
Laboring in the hot sun, crews had to pull the wreckage of a dump truck off off the light rail tracks. It happened on MLK, south of the University of Houston campus.
The red dump truck had just been hit by an eastbound train. Its front end was totally destroyed, leaving the street scattered with debris.
David Jackson was riding the train to his construction job when it happened. He says all of a sudden, he heard a big boom.
“It was just a big impact,” says Jackson. “Driver told us to exit the rear of the train.”
So, what caused the crash?
Metro Chief Operating Officer Andy Skabowski says it appears the dump truck made an illegal left turn and the train couldn’t stop in time.
“The majority of our accidents are illegal left turns,” explains Skabowski. “Again we make sure to ask people to make sure to watch all the signals and the signs and don’t make an illegal left turn in front of the train. You typically lose.”
The driver of the dump truck wasn’t seriously hurt and Metro says everyone on the train was okay.
The Southeast Line has been opened for a little over a year, and while Skabowski says they have had some minor accidents, this crash is the most serious so far.
Trains went back into service on the line a few hours after the accident.