(The following story by Brian Chasnoff appeared on the San Antonio Express-News website on August 1.)
SAN ANTONIO, Texas — A truck driver who witnesses said apparently tried to beat a train across railroad tracks in South Bexar County was fortunate he faced only a single engine Tuesday afternoon, a county spokeswoman said.
Personnel in the Union Pacific engine applied the brakes but it struck the sleeper section of the rig, dragging the cab and its driver more than 750 feet as diesel fuel splashed across the tracks and the cab and engine burst into flames, sheriff’s Sgt. Frank Bellino said.
A train often must travel more than a mile to come to a complete stop. But a conductor and engineer in the engine were able to halt it quickly, escape through a back door and pull the 18-wheeler’s driver from the twisted metal of his cab before he became fully engulfed in flames, Bellino said.
Rudy Rodriguez, 37, an independent truck driver who hauls sand for Osburn Materials, was flown to Brooke Army Medical Center with severe burns, officials said. His injuries were not life-threatening.
The crash occurred around 1:30 p.m. on a private road that runs parallel to the railroad tracks before curving across them and intersecting with the 24000 block of Pleasanton Road. Rodriguez was southbound on the private road when he met the train, which also was traveling south into Atascosa County.
The crossing had no descending railroad arms, but a warning sign is posted there.
Union Pacific personnel are required to blow a train’s horn at such crossings. In this instance, a computer confirmed that they had sounded the horn, said Union Pacific spokesman Joe Arbona.
The conductor and engineer told investigators that it appeared that Rodriguez was aware of the engine and was trying to beat it across the tracks, said Bexar County spokeswoman Yvonne Escamilla.
It was unclear Tuesday how fast the engine was traveling. The speed limit for the train was 40 mph, Arbona said. Investigators said the train was under that speed.
The conductor and engineer were uninjured, officials said.
Jeff Valdez, another truck driver, said he arrived at the scene as emergency medical technicians were attending to Rodriguez, who was walking toward a stretcher. Half his face and one side of his body were covered in burns, and he had a cut on his forehead, Valdez said.
“It’s a miracle” he survived, Valdez said.