Danger Train: Collision #31
Given the frequency with which this keeps happening, I may well have to go in and create a new category for the Danger Train. Here's the latest (from KPRC-2):
METRORail logged its 31st accident Monday when one of its train hit a sport utility vehicle, News2Houston reported.This is what happens when you build a rail line right in the middle of busy streets and don't properly segregate traffic from the beast. I'm convinced it will only be a matter of time before someone is killed, at which point I'm sure the METRO police chief will scold the victim for dying and try to sue the estate for the cost of repairing the choo choo. I've had some fun with this, but it's really getting beyond the point of being funny. I think that point was reached for me when the wheelchair was struck.Officials said the accident happened around 2:45 p.m. when the SUV's driver stopped on the tracks for a red light at Fannin and Binz.
The train hit the passenger's side of the vehicle, spinning it around.
"(The SUV) had a red light. They stopped and ended up stopping actually on the tracks. The train had the right-of-way. The train was not able to stop in time, which caused the collision," said Carl Clark, with METRO Police.
Five people inside the SUV were taken to a local hospital for evaluation. One person received minor injuries, officials said.
No one on the train was hurt, but passengers felt the accident.
"It was just like a big bump. This car come out there and just hit the train, which spun it completely around," said Craig Palmer, a METRORail passenger.
The SUV's driver will be cited for failing to stop at a red light, officials said.
Here is the coverage from the Comical and ABC-13.
Posted by Kevin Whited @ 03/29/04 18:12 | Danger Train | Technorati
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"The train had the right-of-way. The train was not able to stop in time..."
That's the attitude that bothers me. The train *always* has the right-of-way. The train *can't* stop in a reasonable time over a reasonable distance. These facts are the *train's* fault.
Motorists didn't change. They're doing everything they used to. The variable here is light rail itself, and so it must bear the responsibility.
Posted by Owen Courrèges @ 11:14 on 03/30/04
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