Union Pacific to limit train traffic near Milby HS after student hit and killed
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- Union Pacific is limiting its train schedules more than a week after a Milby High School student was killed while crossing the tracks to get to school.
The company says effective immediately, they will not have trains running for one hour during school drop-off and pick-up times at Milby.
The company is also working to extend sidewalks along Broadway to make crossing safer.
The change comes after 15-year-old Sergio Rodriguez was hit while trying to cross in front of a slow-moving Union Pacific train, according to information provided by witnesses. The student was hit about a fifth of a mile down from where the caution arms went down.
ORIGINAL REPORT: Milby High School student hit and killed by train, HISD confirms
First responders pronounced the teenager dead at the scene. Investigators said they don't have reason to believe there was foul play and called the incident "accidental."
This incident highlights ongoing concerns that the community has reported for years about trains stopping and slowing down in front of the school, something Union Pacific and local, state, and federal officials have failed to fix. Students often jump on, under, or through these trains to make it to class on time.
The day after Sergio's death, Whitmire said the city would build a pedestrian bridge over the railroad tracks where the student was killed.
SEE ALSO: Houston mayor says he'll ask Union Pacific to pay for pedestrian bridge over railroad tracks
The city estimates the Milby Bridge would cost $6.5 million. Whitmire said he would ask Union Pacific to foot the bill.
Attorneys for Sergio's family announced they filed a lawsuit against the railroad company for wrongful death and negligence.
Two days later, Rodriguez's parents filed a petition that lists several allegations against Union Pacific, including failure to sound the train's horn, taking necessary precautions to avoid the collision despite the foreseeable risk, and creating adequate safety policies and procedures.
The plaintiffs are requesting a jury trial and asking for more than a million dollars in damages. However, their attorneys say the petition is about much more than the monetary relief. They also want to see changes in the train operation schedule and the construction of a pedestrian bridge.
RELATED: Family of Milby High School student killed in train crash files lawsuit against Union Pacific
Union Pacific's president met with Houston Mayor John Whitmire on Tuesday and promised further collaboration. Whitmire said he's pleased.
Milby is not the only school close to railroad tracks.
READ MORE: HISD identifies nine schools needing pedestrian bridges, following Milby tragedy
Last week, Houston ISD said nine schools were deemed the most dangerous, with trains operating nearby.
Two of those schools, Cook Elementary and Kashmere High, are within eyesight of each other but separated by train tracks. They are no stranger to tragedy related to trains.
In 2016, beloved Kashmere High teacher Johnnie Harris was killed by an Amtrack train as she crossed the tracks on her way home.
Eyewitness News spoke to her husband of more than 50 years, Frank Harris, the day it happened.
"I don't know what to say. I'm lost for words," Harris said.
Students witnessed her death, and the community demanded change, a bridge, anything to make the area safer. Nothing happened then, and people worry someone else will have to die before something is done now.
"Children have to cross these tracks to get to better, to get to a better education," Savant Moore, elected HISD trustee for District 2, said.
Moore's kids crawl under a train to attend McReynolds Middle.
"I'm tired of people having to pass away for them to fix issues," Moore said.
He said that dangerous behavior happens here, too, and that enough is enough.
"What about over here in Kashmere Gardens? When are they going to do right by this community? We can't have Union Pacific making statements and doing one-offs when we can fix the whole situation," Moore said.
After Union Pacific agreed to adjust train operations near Milby High, ABC13 asked Whitmire if other schools impacted by trains could expect the same.
"Union Pacific, HISD, will be involved (and) will review not only those designated sights but there are 700 crossings in the city of Houston," Whitmire said.
Rico Paul is a product of northeast Houston, and now he pours back into his community as a driving instructor. Many of his students attend Kashmere High School.
"It's a pleasure to be able to give back to the community (and) to the youth. It makes me feel wonderful to have it right here," Paul said.
But the location of his business also gives him a front-row seat to the dangerous practice of Cook Elementary and Kashmere High students crawling under stalled trains.
"Every day I see it, I see the actual crawling under and going over when the train stops here for 10 minutes, even 30 minutes," Paul said.
He, too, worries a student will need to die here before more safety measures are put in place.
"You would think the Milby situation, they would try to act on it right away, but we really don't want that to happen in our community again," Paul said.
ABC13 contacted Union Pacific to ask if they are planning to change train operations around the school, but we have not heard back.
Long-term solutions be considered at Milby, including a bridge or tunnel, according to the mayor.
