Pickup Truck Driver Killed at Dangerous, Unguarded Texas Crossing
(Magnolia, Texas – September 10, 2012)
The 49-year-old driver of a pickup truck died at the scene of a collision between his 2011 Chevrolet pickup and a Union Pacific freight train Sunday afternoon at about 3:00 P.M. when he attempted to cross UPRR tracks at a dangerous, unguarded private grade crossing just inside Montgomery County, TX, near the community of Magnolia, TX.
Edward Cannon of Magnolia was killed when the train struck the driver’s side of his vehicle, turning it into a mass of metal and rubber and depositing the wreckage beside the railroad tracks. The crossing is protected only by combination stop/railroad crossbuck signs generally used at private crossings rather than the flashing lights, bells and crossing gates known to be 90% effective in halting such accidents.
The victim was pronounced dead upon arrival of Montgomery County Hospital District emergency personnel. Both Montgomery and Waller County Sheriffs’ Departments sent personnel to the scene, as it was at first uncertain as to which county’s boundaries the tragedy had occurred inside.
The deceased’s body was sent to Houston for an autopsy on Monday.
