A high school student was struck and killed by a train this week as he tried to cross the tracks on his way to school.
Sergio Rodriguez, 15, was on his way to Milby High School in southeast Houston when it happened. Police are now calling the incident a tragic accident.
They said the Union Pacific train was moving but traveling at a slow speed — and that the teen had simply tried to cross too late.
The student was struck about a half-mile (0.8 km) away when the track’s warning arms lowered, police said, prompting Houston Mayor John Whitmire, a Democrat, to issue a statement.
He said the city will build a pedestrian bridge over the tracks as a direct result of the incident, which happened around 7:30 a.m. Monday.
At the time of writing there are no signs of foul play and Sergio, who was a rising football talent at school, is fondly remembered.
He is survived by four siblings and two parents, said his older sister Cecilia Rodriguez.
“(Sergio) was so kind, smart, funny, full of life and a student dedicated to football,” she wrote on one GoFundMe designed to help with funeral costs. ‘He was taken from us too soon. Now my mother has to bury her son.’
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Sergio Rodriguez, 15, was on his way to Milby High School in southeast Houston when he was fatally struck by a train Monday morning – police are now calling the incident an accident
The victim’s sister said of the sophomore who was believed to have rushed to school a few blocks away: “He was so kind, smart, funny, full of life and a student dedicated to football.” Investigators are still investigating the incident
The Houston Police Department and its homicide unit have since begun their own investigation, which led to Sgt. Bill Elsbury concluded Tuesday that the incident was simply an accident.
“It was terrible,” he said KTRKadding that the force is still waiting for Union Pacific — the nation’s second-largest railroad — to provide video from the non-passenger train.
With that, Elsbury said, they might get a better idea of what exactly happened.
“Every time we lose a child or young person, I can’t imagine anything worse,” the Texas police officer added.
A spokesperson for the Houston Independent School District (HISD), meanwhile, issued a separate statement confirming that the stretch of track where Sergio was struck was not intended for crossing.
“The student in yesterday’s incident did not cross where the road intersects the railroad tracks,” Alexandra Elizondo told KTRK on Tuesday.
“He crossed further into a grassy area that would not be an area that HISD would monitor. Obviously, HISD cannot monitor the entire length of the track.”
The local newspaper reported the day before that pedestrians have been caught climbing onto, over or through train carriages at the site at least twice this year, although this is the first death.
They said the Union Pacific train was moving but traveling at a slow speed — and that the teen had simply tried to cross too late.
The student was hit about 0.5 miles away. The track’s warning arms went down, police said
“It was terrible,” the sergeant who oversaw the investigation told KTRK, adding that the force is still waiting for Union Pacific — the nation’s second-largest railroad — to provide video footage from the train in issue, seen here after the incident Monday
Joe Marin of Milby High, a teammate and classmate of Segio, said of his friend, “The coaches loved him. Everyone really loved him very much.
“We cried (Monday) because that’s our best friend. Sergio was funny, kind and had a good heart. He was one of the few people who would help me when I got injured on the field.”
Parents and neighbors, meanwhile, said more of the same, with some drawing attention to a prevailing issue involving the Broadway St. and Brumblay St. stretch of track in Pecan Park that was problematic.
Explaining how trains pass in the morning as students walk to school, they said some teenagers, in an ill-advised attempt to avoid being late, will cross when they are not supposed to.
“They have to build a bridge somewhere, otherwise they won’t let the train pass when they come home from school or go to school,” says David, who lives down the street. “They’re just young kids.”
He added that something like this “will happen again if (the city) continues to let the train pass there in the morning.”
“We need to do something about this because all high schools normally start at 8:30 a.m.,” added a parent who asked not to be identified, reportedly for fear of reprisals. “This is one of the few schools that starts at 7:50.”
At the time of writing there are no signs of foul play and the young footballer who excelled is fondly remembered
Parents and neighbors, meanwhile, were saying more of the same, with some drawing attention to a prevailing issue involving the Broadway St. and Brumblay St. stretch of track in Pecan Park that was problematic
Houston Mayor John Whitmire, a Democrat, appeared to heed those calls Tuesday, taking it upon himself to take matters into his own hands by promising a pedestrian bridge — possibly at the expense of the railroad company.
The mayor appeared to heed these calls and appeared to take it upon himself to take the matter into his own hands on Tuesday.
“We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” Whitmire said, asking Union Pacific to foot the bill for the now-promised bridge.
‘The easy way is: give us priority, help us pay the costs and let us solve one of your safety problems.’
The politician further revealed that he may be considering the same for other tracks in the city, but did not confirm anything concrete.
“They could have built a bridge a long time ago,” Marin asked, visibly frustrated by his friend’s death.
“Why did it have to take a kid dying before they realized they had to build a bridge before anything else happened?” he asked.
As of this writing, the fundraiser, started by Sergio’s sister, has raised more than $23,000, surpassing its $20,000 goal.
‘On behalf of my mother, I would like to thank everyone for their prayers and kind words!’ Cecila wrote and promised that give her brother a ‘decent funeral’.
“They could have built a bridge a long time ago,” one asked, as citizens have portrayed the section where the boy was struck as problematic. “Why did it have to take a kid dying before they realized they had to build a bridge before anything else happened?”
A Union Pacific representative said in its own statement Monday: “Our hearts go out to the family of a teenager who was beaten and killed in Houston today. Union Pacific is conducting research and working with the community.”
The company currently operates more than 8,300 locomotives over 52,200 miles in 23 states and has a market capitalization of $142.76 billion.
Last September, the Federal Railroad Administration found that locomotive and car failure rates were double the national average, prompting an official reprimand.