Train derails near Splendora after fatal crash at RR crossing

By
Bluebonnet News
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A train derailment along US 59 in the Splendora area sent 21 rail cars from the tracks on Monday morning.

A collision between a Union Pacific freight train and a mobile home moving truck Monday morning killed one person and derailed 21 rail cars along US 59 between E. River Drive and Fostoria Road.

According to Lt. James “Troy” Teller, spokesperson for Splendora Police Department, at around 7:30 a.m. Monday, a driver from Rodney’s Mobile Home Service, Inc., located at the 12100 block of US 59, was crossing the railroad tracks and pulled into the path of an oncoming train. The driver was killed in the crash. No major injuries were reported for the railroad employees.

The name of the deceased is Michael Flora, 56, Teller said. Owners of the mobile home service company were immediately aware of the fatality as the accident happened directly in front of the business.

As of 11 a.m., the entrance into the Midline community is closed to all traffic, but it should be reopened sometime between noon and 3 p.m., according to Teller.

The frontage road along US 59 Northbound between Fostoria Road and E. River Drive will remain closed throughout the day while Union Pacific employees and support teams clear the tracks. UP’s Hazmat teams are using air quality monitors to ensure there is no threat to workers and residents in the area.

Teller said the derailed cars were carrying packaged household chemicals.

Assisting UP at the scene are Splendora Police Department, Montgomery County Pct. 4 Constable’s Office, Texas Department of Transportation and the Texas Department of Public Safety, according to Teller.

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Bluebonnet News
Bluebonnet News
Before creating Bluebonnet News in 2018, Vanesa Brashier was a community editor for the Houston Chronicle/Houston Community Newspapers. During part of her 12 years at the newspapers, she was assigned as the digital editor and managing editor for the Humble Observer, Kingwood Observer, East Montgomery County Observer and the Lake Houston Observer, and the editor of the Dayton News, Cleveland Advocate and Eastex Advocate. Over the years, she has earned more than two dozen writing awards, including Journalist of the Year.

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