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Tuesday, June 24, 1997

Train crash, explosion leaves 3 dead, 2 injured

By KELLEY SHANNON Associated Press Writer

DEVINE, Texas (AP) - Two freight trains collided head-on and burst into flames, killing three people and leaving investigators searching Monday through the mangled, smoldering remnants of locomotives and boxcars.

The two Union Pacific trains - one heading north, the other heading south - slammed into each other about 11:15 p.m. Sunday on a single-track stretch of rail in this town about 30 miles southwest of San Antonio.

"It looked like an explosion like in the movies," said Cayetano Guerrero, who was driving nearby when the trains crashed. "It looked like the sunset coming up. That's how bright it was."

The fire was extinguished by early Monday, although smoke continued to spew from a huge clump of railcars.

The trains were carrying about 15,000 gallons of diesel fuel but no hazardous materials. The surrounding area was briefly evacuated immediately after the crash, authorities said.

Some of the 29 derailed cars were almost unrecognizable they were so badly damaged and twisted. The wreck also damaged a railroad bridge.

Two of the dead were Union Pacific workers, said Mark Davis, a railroad spokesman at the accident scene.

The third victim was not an authorized train passenger, and Union Pacific officials said they did immediately know who the person was or whether a vehicle may have been trapped between the trains.

"It might have been a trespasser on the train, we're not sure," said John Bromley, Union Pacific spokesman in Omaha, Neb.

A third railroad employee, identified as Randy Dennis, 37, was in serious but stable condition at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio with burns. A fourth employee was treated and released.

The northbound train was headed from Laredo to near Baton Rouge, La., and was carrying loads of rocks. The southbound train, headed from Chicago to Mexico, was transporting auto parts.

As workers repaired the train tracks and used a crane and bulldozers to remove the rail cars Monday, investigators tried to determine why the two trains were on the same track heading toward one another.

"That's going to be the crux of our investigation," Bromley said. "We're checking the orders that were issued to the trains to see how they were written and how they were carried out. It's likely that human error will probably play a large part in this."

Investigators will question railroad dispatchers in Omaha and the railroad employees who survived and will look for clues in data boxes aboard the trains, Davis said.

"In each locomotive they have like a 'black box,' " Davis said. "It's not as sophisticated as (on an) aircraft, but at least it gives us when brakes were applied, how fast the train was going, things of that nature."

The accident occurred in "dark territory," meaning it is without rail signals and must be controlled by dispatchers, Davis said.

Water booms were placed in a creek about two miles away to stop spread of the fuel, and dirt was to be removed from contaminated ditches nearby, Davis said. Send a Letter to the Editor about This Story | Start or Join A Discussion about This Story
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