Courtesy of KXAS

One should always exercise extreme caution when driving across a railroad track.  This point was reinforced for three people who were injured Tuesday evening when a Trinity Railway Express train collided with a car near the Richland Hills station, at the Carson Street crossing south of Highway 121, at 6:40 p.m.

The accident was sufficiently severe to warrant a significant emergency response. Emergency personnel from Haltom City, North Richland Hills, Richland Hills and Fort Worth responded to the accident.

According to a witness, the car tried to outrun the train across the tracks.  More specifically, a witness stated “the car was coming south, it drove around the crossing arms — which were down — drove around the arms, train hit it, and it spun it into the position that we found it,” said Haltom City Deputy Fire Chief Fred Napp.

As is often the case with train wrecks, the accident produced catastrophic injuries.  Two people in the car were critically injured and a third was reported to be in serious condition.  Although it was unclear whether the injured individuals had been ejected from the vehicle as a result of the accident, Deputy Fire Chief Napp reported that all the victims were outside the vehicle when the first emergency crews arrived.

MedStar EMS said a woman in her late 30s or early 40s in critical condition and a man in his 20s were taken to John Peter Smith Hospital. A woman in her late 30s or early 40s was taken to Texas Health Harris Methodist Hospital.

None of the 67 passengers aboard the westbound Trinity Railways Express train were injured.

Chief Napp issued a reminder to exercise prudence when crossing a railroad track, stating that “if the crossing arms are down, stop,” Chief Napp warned. “Waiting 30 seconds for a TRE train to go by is not worth your life.”