(The Associated Press distributed the following article on May 21.)
GUNTER, Texas — The investigation of the cause of a deadly head-on collision of two trains in Grayson County will concentrate on communication between the dispatchers and the trains minutes before the accident, federal officials said Thursday.
An engineer died and four crew members were injured in the collision Wednesday. Nearly two dozen rail cars derailed, and a major rail line was closed.
Mike Flanigon, lead investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board, said the southbound train should have stopped on a side track six miles north of the collision site until the northbound train had passed.
“It appears that the southbound train was beyond the limits of authority. Exactly why, we don’t fully understand,” Flanigon said during a news conference Thursday in Sherman. “One aspect of the investigation is going to be looking at procedures involved.”
Investigators will review radio communication transcripts and re-create the accident to try to determine what happened, he said.
A hazardous materials crew spent the day cleaning up diesel fuel that spilled at the site about 20 miles south of Sherman.
Both trains are owned by Burlington Northern Santa Fe. Joe Faust, a spokesman for the Fort Worth-based railroad, said the rail line reopened Thursday afternoon.
Engineer Mike Rodgers died at the scene. The injured crew members were taken to Dallas and Sherman hospitals. The Texas Department of Public Safety identified them as Cleveland Germane Smith, 34; J.C. Peacock; Steve Waddell; and Ron Richardson. The ages of Rodgers, Peacock, Waddell and Richardson were not available.
Peacock was a conductor and Richardson was a brake man, said Brian Taylor, a DPS communications officer.
Smith, who was taken by medical helicopter to Parkland Memorial Hospital with severe burns, was in critical condition Thursday, a hospital spokeswoman said. The other three men were taken to Wilson N. Jones Medical Center in Sherman, where they were in stable condition, hospital spokeswoman Karis Schirmer said.
Rail cars on one of the trains were empty, and the other train was hauling rocks, said Grayson County sheriff’s Lt. David Hawley.
At least one of the locomotives burned, and flames spread to grass and other nearby vegetation. The southbound train had 24 cars and three locomotives. The number of cars on the other train was not immediately available.
Faust told the Sherman/Denison Herald Democrat that the trains could have been traveling 45 mph or faster through the rural area.