A MetroRail train struck a pedestrian downtown Thursday evening, sending him to the hospital with serious injuries and stranding hundreds of commuters trying to get home from work. Posted on 07/09/2004 5:31:21 PM PDT by Dog Gone
A MetroRail train struck a pedestrian downtown Thursday evening, sending him to the hospital with serious injuries and stranding hundreds of commuters trying to get home from work.
Witnesses said the man appeared to be intoxicated as he crossed Main between Rusk and Walker, stepped onto the landscaped esplanade in the center of the street and then into the path of the northbound train about 5:15 p.m.
The man, whose name and age were not available Thursday night, was taken to Ben Taub Hospital where he was listed in serious condition.
The man is the third pedestrian struck by MetroRail, and it's the 49th crash along the 7 1/2-mile route since testing began Oct. 22. The number of crashes -- more than 20 times the national average for light rail systems -- has concerned Metro officials, prompting a review of whether future rail lines also should be built on the street as currently planned.
Jon Bannis was on the train when it came to a sudden stop. He initially thought it had run over a bag.
"When I got off, all these people were screaming," he said. "That's devastating seeing that."
Freddy Terrazas said he was waiting to cross Main at Rusk when he saw the man get struck, hit his head on the bricks that line the track and get dragged a couple of yards underneath the 98,500-pound train. Terrazas said the train, which had just departed the Main Street Square platform on the previous block, was beeping its horn in an apparent warning to the man standing atop the shrubs.
Pervis Richmond, manager of Domino's Pizza near the crash scene, ran out to help.
"He had a pulse when I got there, and then the train's hydraulic system dropped on him," said Richmond, an Alief volunteer firefighter.
He said the train operator moved it a few feet so people could reach the man.
Nearby, workers, including Richmond, described the man as a homeless person who frequents the area, a common hangout for the homeless.
"I've actually kicked him out of our store before, but he's a nice guy," Richmond said.
The esplanade is not a legal crossing point. Metro has posted signs along the rail line downtown warning pedestrians to "cross only at crosswalks," which are controlled by signals. This is the first time a pedestrian has been struck downtown; the other two incidents were in Midtown and at Reliant Park Station.
At downtown's five light rail stations Thursday, many stranded passengers were irate at the lack of communication and assistance from the Metropolitan Transit Authority in completing their trips. An electronic sign system at stations is supposed to notify riders of such troubles but has never worked properly despite six months of debugging since service began Jan. 1. Service was disrupted for 90 minutes at the peak of rush hour.
Both tracks were closed for an hour while two dozen Metro and Houston police officers investigated the scene, observed by about 100 onlookers. Northbound passengers were dropped off at the Downtown Transit Center while riders waiting to head south from downtown were marooned at the other four affected stations.
A few trains were sent up and down the southbound track before full service was restored about 6:45 p.m.
Metro Police Chief Tom Lambert said a shuttle bus was put into operation to take passengers to the downtown stops, but numerous passengers who waited along the line said they weren't aware of the bus or where to find it.
Eric Rasmussen said he was forced to disembark at the transit center shortly after the incident on his way to a job interview and had to walk the remaining 12 blocks, making him late.
At the Main Street Square southbound platform, about 60 commuters were waiting for a train about 6:10 p.m. Yvonne McElwee, heading to her home near the Texas Medical Center, was among those who expressed frustration that Metro did not post notices of the shutdown on the electronic sign above the platform. There were also no announcements on the station intercom, she said, and no Metro employees were seen at the station offering to help riders.
Metro's vendor was in town again in late June to work on the malfunctioning sign system. Controllers at Houston TranStar are supposed to be able to program notices such as "train service disrupted; board northbound shuttle bus on San Jacinto."
Chip Lambert, Metro spokesman, didn't know why the sign system hadn't been fixed. He also was unsure why Metro hadn't dispatched employees to each station to assist riders, and pledged to review the complaints today with service supervisors.
This is what happens when you let Democrats govern big cities.
Even in Texas.
sounds like the return of Slamtrack......
You don't have any opinions about the wisdom of running light rail down the crowded Medical Center area, do you?
Ahhhh, blight rail!
So where are the trial lawyers to sue for these unfortunate victims who were injured by the mean, evil corporate train? Oh, wait!...
Pervis? [Gods voice]Pervis Richmond...you are hereby destined to manage a pizza store...for the rest of your entire life. [/Gods voice]
"You don't have any opinions about the wisdom of running light rail down the crowded Medical Center area, do you?"
By way of comparison, Los Angeles' Blue line (one of four terribly wonderful color coded mass transit lines here) shares considerable downtown roadbed with busy streets. Blue line trains stop at traffic lights and otherwise roar along at perhaps 15 mph (with good tail winds). To say the trains "run" on the streets is incorrect; it is more accurate to say that they "crawl". The Blue line sucks!
Latest saga of the "Wham Bam Tram"
I'm extremely proud of the "20 times the national average" in train wrecks. Dammit, we do things BIGGER in Texas.
Houston Wham Bam Thank You Tram PING!
I thought that was a nice touch to whole incident.
Yvonne McElwee, heading to her home near the Texas Medical Center, was among those who expressed frustration that Metro did not post notices of the shutdown on the electronic sign above the platform. There were also no announcements on the station intercom, she said, and no Metro employees were seen at the station offering to help riders.
Metro doesn't like to air their dirty laundry. Don't expect them to tell potential riders that (A) there has been another accident, and (B) it may be over an hour before another train comes by.
WOW, the whole system, pumps, tubes, hoses, cylinders etc etc.
Or did he just get sprayed with a bit of oil?
Apparently, they prowl the streets empty seeking cars and pedestrians to take off the road.
Amazingly, earlier this week they suspended one train driver for ramming a car that was lawfully on the tracks. Of course, it was for one day with pay so that he could review safety materials. He's back on the tracks tonight, so drive carefully!
You know as much as I do, but it couldn't have been a positive development...
Anyone want to ping Willie?
Been there. Had to endure that. I think I posted a thread on my experience here somewhere.
Hell, why not.
Damn. I hate it when that happens.
Must be "silly people v. trains" week. At least the bicyclist who rode into the side of the Sounder train earlier this week did it only a block from the station, thereby inflicting minimal inconvenience on the commuting public...
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