(The following story by Som Lisaius appeared on the KOLD News 13 website on August 1.)
TUCSON, Ariz. — When the clouds start rolling in, we often think about washes and lightning and swift water rescues, but when the rains come down as hard as they did yesterday, we need to start thinking about the railroad as well.
Unless there’s a traffic backup along the tracks, we usually don’t think about Union Pacific and the amount of freight the company moves each day.
But Tuesday, companies on both sides of border had to consider the railroad giant–due to a monsoonal storm that temporarily put the Nogales line out of business.
“We believe the vehicle got into the water at the wash at First avenue, then was washed to the west underneath the railroad tracks.”
Tucson Fire Battalion Chief Tim Cornely on the swift water rescue attempt of a 6o year old man who was literally trapped under the tracks.
The raging Rodeo Wash swept his Ford Explorer away as it tumbled several times, traveled downstream nearly a half-mile before getting lodged under a bridge near Irvington and Fletcher.
The man drowned before emergency crews could get to him.
After the storm, Union Pacific worked diligently to reinforce the bridge and the tracks its trains must cross.
Arizona’s only railroad line to and from Mexico was shut down about 90 minutes. It’s the second time that’s happened in the last two weeks.
The last time was July 20th, when the line was shut down about 36 hours due to storm-related damage. Union Pacific says the Nogales route averages three trains per day. The majority of the Nogales-line haul is automobile and automobile parts related.