Shallowater, TX — There was a fatal accident reported around 12:00 p.m. on Sunday of this past weekend (July 26, 2015) that claimed the life of a man in a pickup truck. The accident happened near the small town of Shallowater, off Highway 84, which is several miles north of Lubbock.
So far, not many details have been provided, but it appears that this man’s truck was hit by a passing train.
The man had been driving his truck along a private road that afternoon and was near County Road 1600 & Highway 84 when his truck somehow crossed over the railroad tracks at the same time a train was incoming.
The train crashed into the truck and left the driver with serious injuries. Paramedics were called, but the man died at the scene a short time later. His name hasn’t been given yet, but police said they’ll keep investigating.
Map of the Accident
Commentary:
Since there appear to be no kind of crossing guards or warning signs at this part of the track, I wonder who owns the land around the trucks and who would be responsible for maintaining that. In most cases, it’s simply the railroad company’s responsibility, but they often lay that burden various property owners’ feet.
Ultimately, it’s not up to you or me to decide whether train tracks are dangerous and ought to have more safety features, it’s for a jury to decide. They would have to look at the facts here and examine the evidence to determine if the railroad, for example, could have and should have put up some crossing arms for the safety of everybody around.
I’m guessing most people will scan over this and think that the victim is completely in the wrong, but that’s not necessarily the case. Perhaps the man’s car was stuck or even had a mechanical issue with the engine. Sometimes, going over railroad tracks too fast will disconnect your battery and it will short out when it hits the roof of your hood — effectively killing your car’s engine for a moment.
I won’t sit here and speculate all day, but it seems like there more possible explanations for what happened than simply what was reported in the news.
— Grossman Law Offices
