IE 11 is not supported. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser.

Two freight trains collide in Texas

Two freight trains collided early Monday on a Union Pacific track south of downtown San Antonio, and three people including a homeless man were injured, a UP spokesman said.
/ Source: The Associated Press

Two freight trains collided early Monday on a Union Pacific track south of downtown San Antonio, and three people including a homeless man were injured, a UP spokesman said.

A UP freight train headed from Houston to Mexico was switching tracks when it struck a northbound UP freight headed from Mexico to East St. Louis, Ill., at a railroad bridge over the San Antonio River, said spokesman Mark Davis.

Two locomotives and 12 freight cars of the southbound train derailed, and Davis said both engines and five of the cars fell into the River.

Container cars on the Mexico-bound train were carrying non-hazardous cargo including beer, furniture and detergent.

However, the locomotives spilled a total of about 5,600 gallons of their diesel fuel into the river, and hazardous-materials crews were sent to the scene, Davis said.

There was no immediate word on how fast the trains were moving. Investigators were trying to determine why the trains were on the same track, Davis said.

Two crew members of the southbound freight suffered broken bones and a homeless person under the bridge also was injured. Davis had no details on the homeless person’s injuries, but he said they were not believed to be life-threatening.