Odessa Man Killed in Accident Involving Union Pacific Train
One man was killed in Odessa on Tuesday as a result of an accident involving a train.
Details about the Fatal Accident
The accident occurred on Tuesday around 5:30 p.m. near First Street and Dixie Boulevard.
According to the Odessa American, the victim of the accident was driving a red Dodge Dakota pickup truck heading south on Dixie when he ignored the warning lights and was hit by a Pacific Union train.
The victim, identified as 72-year-old Clarence Haynes of Crane, was killed at the scene and there have been no reports of other injuries.
According to Jeff DeGraff, the director of media relations for Pacific Union, one of the leading causes of railroad accidents is when people think they can beat the train before it gets too close. DeGraff said that, due to the vantage point drivers have, it’s hard to tell how far away the train actually is and how fast the train is travelling.
As a result of this inability to determine the speed of the train, many people underestimate just how quickly the train is really travelling along the tracks, which makes them think they can get across the crossing quicker than the train can get there.
Important Facts about Railroad Accidents
The following information was provided by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA):
- 2,287 railroad accidents were recorded in 2014 resulting in 269 deaths and 849 injuries.
- Three out of every four railroad accidents occurred with 25 miles of the motorist’s home and half occurred within five miles of the motorist’s home.
- A motorist is roughly 20 times as likely to die in a collision involving a train than in a crash involving another motor vehicle.
