The drivers of two Houston Fire Department vehicles involved in collisions with METRORail trains in July were at fault.
After the July 3 crash, fire officials blamed it on the train, while rail authorities disputed that, abc 13 reported.
The fire truck was headed west on Hogan with lights and sirens on when the driver “failed to exercise duty of care when entering the intersection,” according to the crash report.
The engineer and a passenger were transported to the hospital for injuries.
The train operator’s attorney said, while government agencies are usually protected from liability in crashes, he is asking the city for money to cover her expenses related to the crash.
“What’s different about this case is that she’s driving a train. 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. That’s not what they said – they said the driver said, ‘I didn’t see it,'” Attorney Steve Shellist told a reporter.
On July 17, reports showed the driver of a fire department vehicle disregarded a “stop and go signal light” and hit the train.
Three people were reportedly injured in that crash.
Fire department officials had not responded to the station’s request for comment.
Houston Firefighters at Fault in Two Crashes Involving Trains, Report Shows | Firehouse
