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A Union Pacific train collided with a vehicle stalled on the tracks, leaving no injuries and damage to a crossing arm, right before the Gedenke! parade, Saturday, May 9, at the South Eagle Street crossing in Weimar.
The train carried the vehicle through two other crossings before ultimately stopping near the South Mechanic Street crossing. Weimar Volunteer Fire Department, Colorado County Emergency Medical Services and the Colorado County Sheriff’s Office quickly responded to the scene. Union Pacific officials arrived shortly after.
“There was no derailment or anything like that, and no damage to the train…There was one gate that was damaged, train gate where the crossing was. They replaced that fairly quickly before the train even moved,” Weimar Police Chief Jason Smalley said. “No injuries. Luckily, nobody was around the tracks when it happened…For a train accident, I’m glad there wasn’t anybody hurt, and that was the extent of the damage.”
Smalley said a man was attempting to push his vehicle over the tracks after it stalled but failed to do so in time. The man initially left the scene but later returned. The collision occurred right at the start of the parade for Gedenke!, the city’s annual festival celebrating its Texas German origins.
“Initially, it was being debated whether or not we need to cancel the parade, because it was going to be kind of on the end of the route where we were going to be at,” Smalley said. “We just altered the parade route and carried along.”
Smalley said Weimar Police Department is working the case, and no charges have been filed.
