(Haltom City, Texas – February 5, 2019)
A 49-year-old man later identified as a long-time conservative radio talk show host in the Dallas-Fort Worth, TX area, died about 3:45 PM, CST Tuesday afternoon. The radio host was killed when he was struck by an Amtrak passenger train as he jogged beside, but not on, railroad tracks owned jointly by the public rail transit authorities of the two major Texas cities.
The deceased jogger, Michael “Doc” Thompson, gained fame first on the Glenn Beck Program and was most recently one of three hosts manning a morning slot on MOJO 5.0. He was near tracks between Carson Street and the Big Fossil Creek viaduct when he was hit from behind by Amtrak’s “Texas Eagle.” The train had 34 passengers on board; none were injured in the incident.
The rail line carries a daily average of 77 Trinity Railway Express and Amtrak passenger and Union Pacific and Burlington Northern Santa Fe freight trains at a maximum allowable speed of 79 mph. It is easily accessible at numerous points along its urban/suburban route and commonly used by pedestrians for jogging or walking.
