Marfa residents may have noticed a large group of law enforcement officers out by Vizcaino Park this morning, on Tuesday January 24. KRTS News just spoke with Presidio County Sherriff’s office dispatcher Mark Lujan, and he confirmed that a white pickup truck was hit by a Union Pacific freight train earlier this morning. The incident occurred around 6:57 am.
One male passenger was transported by ambulance to Big Bend Regional Medical Center. His identity is not currently being released. KRTS will keep you up to date on this story as it develops.
UPDATE 4 PM: We spoke to Union Pacific this afternoon, and they reported that their eastbound train - approximately at 6:55 AM CT - struck a Ford F-250 at the Golf Course Road railroad crossing. This is on the far east side of Marfa.
The engineer saw the vehicle and sounded the train whistle. The truck was struck toward the rear portion of the vehicle, and the driver was injured, in what was classified as a "priority two," and transported to Big Bend Regional Medical Center.
The Union Pacific spokesperson explained to KRTS that the Golf Course Road crossing, although it isn't a gated crossing, is equipped with proper signage, a railroad crossing sign and a stop sign.