Two Killed in Massive Train Derailment After Semi Truck Blocks Texas Railroad Crossing

The train's locomotive lifted in the air upon impact, sending it and its cars into the Pecos Chamber of Commerce building.

By Byron Hurd

Posted on Dec 19, 2024

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Reeves County, TX

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A freight train derailed after striking a semi-trailer that was blocking a crossing in Pecos City, Texas, Wednesday evening. City officials say the impact killed two Union Pacific staff onboard the train and injured three others. Video footage of the accident depicts the truck stopped at the crossing before a passing freight train rips its trailer (and load, which appears to be some sort of storage tank or silo) away from the tractor completely, hurling the assembly from the accident scene and derailing the train itself.

Pecos is a small town about halfway between Odessa and El Paso on Interstate 20 in West Texas. The railroad parallels the interstate outside of town, but the freeway bypasses downtown to the south. The crash happened at the U.S. 285 crossing just north of East 1st Street, an area officials describe as a heavily commercial part of the small municipality.

A longer video posted shows an already chaotic scene prior to the accident. We can see the semi sitting stationary well before the train arrives. What may have been one of its escort vehicles is seen maneuvering ahead of the stuck tractor-trailer seconds before all hell breaks loose. The train’s locomotive is lifted into the air as it blasts the truck’s cargo from its tie-downs and sends it sailing down the street, where it strikes the city’s Chamber of Commerce building. As the train derailed, the cars piled up one after another in the building’s parking lot, leaving a scene of chaos and destruction.

A handful of train cars contained hazardous materials, but apart from some diesel fuel from the locomotive itself, there was no spillage and the wreck does not pose an active health threat to the community, officials said in a Thursday press conference. One of the cars was hauling airbags, while two others contained lithium-ion batteries.

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