PECOS, Texas — Two crew members have died after a Union Pacific train collided with a tractor-trailer truck on Wednesday (Dec. 18) and derailed, sending railcars into a trackside building.
The second death, of an individual who had been transported to Odessa, Texas, in serious condition, occurred this morning, officials said during a press conference today. Pecos Police Chief Lisa Tarango said the deceased workers were “veteran employees” of the railroad. Union Pacific has identified them as engineer Clay Burt, 63, an employee since 1998, and conductor Phillip Araujo, 47, who had been with the railroad since 2012.
Three other people suffered minor injuries.
The incident occurred about 5 p.m. with a collision near Oak and Dot Stafford streets, and led to derailed cars hitting the Pecos Chamber of Commerce building, a former Texas & Pacific Railway station. Video circulating widely on social media shows the train hitting a truck carrying an oversized load that was blocking the grade crossing; Pecos city manager Charles Lino said officials would not address the specifics of the incident while investigators continue their work.
Individuals in the Chamber of Commerce building were among those who were treated for minor injuries and released. Ronald Lee, joint emergency services chief for Reeves County, said about two containers of hazardous materials from the train remain a focus of the cleanup, one of lithium-ion batteries and one of vehicle airbags, but that Union Pacific’s hazmat team says they are not currently a cause for concern.
Lee also said that the Chamber of Commerce building had suffered significant enough damage that no one is being allowed to enter the building until an engineer can determine it is safe to do so
The National Transportation Safety Board said in a post on X.com that it is sending a team of six investigators to the scene. Pecos city manager Charles Lino said the Federal Railroad Administration and Texas Department of Transportation were among the myriad of agencies involved in the investigation.
The Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers and Trainmen, in a statement today, said, “Our hearts go out to the families of the conductor and engineer who lost their lives” in the incident. The union said it is limited in what it can say about the incident because it is a party to the NTSB’s investigation, but that it “should serve as a wake-up call to legislators to improve rail safety all across the United States. All railroad accidents are avoidable.”
SMART-TD, the union representing conductors, also offered condolences in a statement and asked that its members not share the videos circulating on social media: “The friends and family of the two fallen railroaders are not helped by amplifying the spectacle of the accident. … As we mourn this loss, we also renew our commitment to fighting for stronger safety measures that will serve to better protect all those who work on and live near the rails.”
— Updated at 8:15 a.m. CT with NTSB investigation; revised and updated at 11:35 a.m. CT with new information from press conference. Updated at 12:30 p.m. CT with BLET statement; updated at 2:45 p.m. with names of victims. Updated Dec. 20 at 7:30 a.m. with SMART-TD statement.
