Two Union Pacific employees were killed and three people were injured when a freight train collided with a tractor-trailer and derailed in a small West Texas city, authorities said Thursday. The train derailed around 5pm Wednesday in Pecos after the collision at a railway crossing, authorities said. The hazardous materials that were being carried on the train included lithium ion batteries and air bags, the AP reports, but nothing was released in the derailment, city officials said. Leaked diesel fuel was contained, officials said.
Ronald Lee, emergency services chief for Reeves County, said that some of three people hurt were in the Chamber of Commerce building, which was damaged in the derailment. Pecos Police Chief Lisa Tarango said their injuries were minor. Railroad safety has been in the spotlight since a Norfolk Southern train derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, in early 2023, spilling a cocktail of toxic chemicals and catching fire. Regulators urged the industry to improve safety, and members of Congress proposed a package of changes, but railroads haven't made many major ones to their operations, and the bill has stalled.
Eddie Hall, national president of the Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen union that represents engineers, said in a statement that the derailment is "a reminder that much more needs to be done to make railroading safer." The derailment, he said, "should serve as a wake-up call to legislators to improve rail safety." Tarango said the cleanup was underway, and the National Transportation Safety Board sent a team to investigate.
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