A high-schooler was struck and killed by a train this week while trying to cross the tracks on his way to school.
Sergio Rodriguez, 15, had been on his way to Milby High School in southeast Houston when it happened – with cops now calling the incident a tragic accident.
They have said the Union Pacific train was in motion but traveling at a slow rate of speed – and that the teen had simply attempted to cross too late.
The student was hit about .5 miles down from the track’s caution arms went down, police said – spurring Houston’s mayor, Democrat John Whitmire, to issue a statement.
He said the city will build a pedestrian bridge over the tracks as a direct result of the incident, which happened Monday around 7:30am.
As of writing, there are no signs of foul play, and Sergio – who had been a rising football standout at school – is being fondly remembered.
He leaves behind four siblings and two parents, his older sister, Cecilia Rodriguez, said.
‘[Sergio] was so kind, smart, funny, full a life and a student dedicated to football,’ she wrote on a GoFundMe designed to help with funeral expenses. ‘He was taken away from us too soon. Now my mom has to burry [sic] her son.’
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Sergio Rodriguez, 15, had been on his way to Milby High School in southeast Houston when he was fatally struck by a train Monday morning – with cops now calling the incident an accident
The victim’s sister said of the sophomore who had likely been rushing to school a few blocks away, ‘He was so kind, smart, funny, full a life and a student dedicated to football’. Investigators are still probing the incident
The Houston Police Department and its homicide division, meanwhile, embarked on their own investigation – one that led Sgt. Bill Elsbury to conclude Tuesday the incident was simply an accident.
“It was terrible,’ he told KTRK, adding how the force is still waiting on Union Pacific – the second largest railroad in the country – to provide video from inside the non-passenger train.
With that, Elsbury said, they may be able to get a better idea of what exactly occurred.
‘Any time we lose a child or juvenile, I can’t imagine anything worse,’ the Texas lawman added.
A spokesperson for the Houston Independent School District (HISD), meanwhile, issued a separate statement – confirming the stretch of track where Sergio had been hit was not meant for crossing.
‘The student in the incident yesterday did not cross where the road crosses the tracks,’ Alexandra Elizondo told KTRK Tuesday.
‘He crossed farther down in a grassy area that would not be an area HISD would monitor. HISD obviously cannot monitor the full length of the train track.’
The local outlet reported the day before that pedestrians have been caught climbing on, over, or through train cars at the location at least twice this year, though this is the first death.
They have said the Union Pacific train was in motion but traveling at a slow rate of speed – and that the teen had simply attempted to cross too late.
The student was hit about .5 miles down from the track’s caution arms went down, police said
“It was terrible,’ the sergeant overseeing the investigation told KTRK , adding how the force is still waiting on Union Pacific – the second largest railroad in the country – to provide video from inside the train in question, seen here following the incident Monday
Milby High’s Joe Marin, a team- and schoolmate of Segio, said of his friend, ‘The coaches loved him. Everybody really deeply loved him.
‘We cried (Monday) because that’s our best friend. Sergio was funny, kind, and had a good heart. He was one of the only people who would help me if I got injured on the field.’
Parents and neighbors, meanwhile, said more of the same, with some calling attention to a prevailing issue involving the stretch of track Broadway St. and Brumblay St. in Pecan Park that’s been problematic.
Explaining how trains come through in the morning when students are walking to school, they said some teens, in an ill-advised bid to avoid being late, will cross when they are not supposed to.
‘They need to put a bridge somewhere or don’t (let the train) pass when they’re getting out of school or going into school,’ said David, who lives down the street. ‘They’re just young kids.’
He added how something like this ‘is going to happen again if [the city] keep[s] on letting the train coming through right there in the morning.’
‘We have to do something about this, because all of the high schools usually start at 8:30am,’ added a parent who asked not to share their identity reportedly out of fear of retaliation. ‘This is one of the few schools that starts at 7:50am.’
As of writing, there are no signs of foul play, and the young football standout is being fondly remembered
Parents and neighbors, meanwhile, said more of the same, with some calling attention to a prevailing issue involving the stretch of track Broadway St. and Brumblay St. in Pecan Park that’s been problematic
Houston’s mayor, Democrat John Whitmire appeared to heed these calls Tuesday, taking it upon himself to take the matter into his own hands by promising a pedestrian bridge – potentially at the railroad company’s expense
The mayor appeared to heed these calls, seemingly taking it upon himself Tuesday to take the matter into his own hands.
‘We can do this the easy way or the hard way,’ Whitmire said, asking that Union Pacific foot the bill for the now-promised bridge.
‘The easy way is: grant us the right-of-way, assist us in the cost, and let’s fix one of your safety issues.’
The politician went on to reveal he may be mulling the same for other tracks around the city, but did not confirm anything concrete.
‘They could have built a bridge a long time ago,’ Marin asked, visibly frustrated over his friend’s death.
‘Why did it have to take a kid’s death for them to realize that they need to build a bridge before something else happens?’ he asked.
As of wiriting, the fundraiser started by Sergio’s sister has raised more than $23,000 – surpassing its $20,000 goal.
‘On behalf of my mom, I want to thank everyone for their prayers and kind words!’ Cecila wrote, promising to give her brother a ‘proper burial.’
‘They could have built a bridge a long time ago,’ one person asked, as citizens have painted the stretch where the boy was struck as problematic. ‘Why did it have to take a kid’s death for them to realize that they need to build a bridge before something else happens?’
A representative for Union Pacific, meanwhile, said in tehir own statement MOnday: ‘Our hearts go out to the family of a teenager who was struck and killed today in Houston. Union Pacific is investigating and cooperating with the community.’
The company currently operates more than 8,300 locomotives over 32,200 miles of track across 23 states, and has a market capitalization of $142.76 billion.
In September of last year, The Federal Railroad Administration found rates of defects in its locomotives and cars to be double the national average, leading to an official reprimand.