HOUSTON — Houston Fire Department drivers were at fault in two July collisions involving METRORail trains, according to crash reports obtained by KTRK.
The crashes occurred two weeks apart in July and resulted in injuries to train passengers and an operator.
The first collision happened July 3 on Hogan Street, north of downtown Houston. An HFD fire truck was traveling west with its emergency lights and siren activated when its driver “failed to exercise duty of care when entering the intersection,” the Texas Department of Transportation report states.
A train passenger and the operator were taken to a hospital.
The finding followed conflicting accounts from the agencies. METRO initially reported that the HFD driver caused the crash, while the fire department blamed METRO, according to KTRK.
Attorney Steve Shellist, who represents the train operator, said he is seeking compensation from the city for her crash-related expenses.
“First of all, it’s very difficult to stop a train, and secondly, you would expect that the fire truck would have seen the train,” Shellist said. “That’s not what they said — they said the driver said, ‘I didn’t see it.’”
The second collision happened on July 17 on Fannin Street in Houston’s Museum District. The TxDOT report states that an HFD vehicle disregarded a traffic signal and struck the train.
Three train passengers may have been injured, according to the report.
KTRK reported that the Houston Fire Department did not respond to multiple requests for information about the crashes or whether either employee would face discipline.
