(The following article by Matt Stiles was posted on the Houston Chronicle website on May 25.)
HOUSTON — Two weeks after a Houston seventh-grader lost part of his legs trying to hop aboard a train, city and school officials said Tuesday they plan to launch an effort to teach children about railroad safety.
The program, called Operation Life Saver and announced at a southeast Houston elementary school a mile from where Humberto Tovar was hurt, calls for a weeklong series of special assemblies, mentoring programs and literature distribution beginning next fall.
“We need to do everything possible to ensure that our kids remain safe, not only at school but also en route to school,” said Houston district Superintendent Abelardo Saavedra, who made the announcement with city council members, railroad officials and Mayor Bill White.
Tovar, 13, a Deady Middle School student, was injured May 9 when he tried to jump aboard a moving rail car to get to school more quickly, police and witnesses said.
The police department, which also will help in the education drive, identified about 50 schools, 35 within a quarter-mile of railroad tracks, where some Operation Life Saver programs will take place.
Seventeen schools were singled out as critical for their proximity to tracks or because of previous incidents.
“Parents in our communities should remember to remind their children that trains are not something to play with,” said White, noting his efforts to keep trains from stopping and blocking city intersections.
City Councilwoman Carol Alvarado, surrounded by students from John R. Harris Elementary and Houston Astros mascot Junction Jack, unveiled a new slogan: “Use your brain. Stay off the train.”
Alvarado, who attended the school, recalled seeing classmates crawling under trains.
“Many times there were accidents, there were injuries and even fatalities,” she said. “That type of scene became a way of life here in Manchester and the East End community. Well, today, we’re about to change that way of life.”