Man Dies When Train Strikes 18-Wheeler at Plum Crossing
A truck driver died in a wreck with a train near Plum Thursday morning, June 2.
The crash happened around 8:51 a.m. at the intersection of the train tracks and Prairie Valley Rd. DPS Trooper Mason Hartnett investigated the crash. The truck driver was 55-year-old Juan Solis of Houston.
Hartnett reported that the man was driving a 2006 Peterbilt truck pulling a loaded gravel trailer. The rig was heading south on Prairie Valley Road towards SH 71. Hartnett said the driver failed to yield the right-of-way at the railroad tracks.
A BNSF train was heading east on the tracks towards La Grange. Hartnett said the train’s engineer reported their speed at about 40 miles per hour when the wreck happened.
The train tore the truck away from the trailer. The impact separated the engine from the truck-tractor. The heavy diesel engine flew more than 100 feet and landed in the middle of Prairie Valley Road.
The truck-tractor came to rest facing east along the railroad tracks. Hartnett said Solis was not wearing a seat belt. He died at the scene. The train began to stop and the locomotives came to rest several hundred yards east of the intersection.
La Grange Volunteer Fire Department responded and assisted with the cleanup. Pct. 2 Justice of the Peace Sheila Coufal performed the inquest on the deceased driver. Fayette County Sheriff’s Office and Fayette County EMS also assisted at the scene.
The railroad crossing at Prairie Valley Road does not have any crossarms or warming lights. The tracks are owned by Union Pacific Railroad. Pct. 1 Commissioner Jason McBroom said he plans contact the railroad company and Texas Department of Transportation to discuss traffic safety measures in the Plum area.
A new gravel pit has been built on Old Plum Highway. In addition, McBroom said he knows of plans for another new subject to pollution limits during a “10-year, 24-hour rainfall event.” LCRA wants to change that language to “10-year, 24-hour rainfall event or longer durations (e.g. 30 day event) when cumulative precipitation exceeds a 10-year event.”
The application states: “Recently at FPP, heavy rainfalls have occurred over multiple days, but no one 24-hour period exceeded the 10-year, 24-hour criteria. These multiple day rainfall events have the same effect on the pond as a 10-year, 24-hour rainfall event. Even though pond levels are closely managed so that capacity is available for heavy rainfalls, the 10-year events of any duration cause them to meet capacity quickly. Because heavy rainfall of any duration stirs up the contents of the pond, on some occasions, FPP cannot discharge the pond without a non-compliance … However, to avoid over-topping and to maintain the structural integrity of the pond, the pond contents eventually have to be discharged.”
LCRA said that the situation happened twice last year in May and June. In addition, LCRA asked
In addition, LCRA asked TCEQ for permission to use water from the coal pile runoff pond for irrigation. The current permit allows FPP to use water from the coal pile runoff pond for dust suppression purposes.
“Since effluent from the coal pile runoff pond is already authorized for one type of land application, authorization to use the effluent for irrigation does not represent a relaxation of the permit,” the application states.
The application states the runoff would be used to irrigate land on the power plant property.
The public has no easy way to access the hundreds of pages that comprise LCRA’s permit application and associated documents. They are not available online. Instead, they are located inside two three-ring binders on a table at La Grange City Hall – which technically fulfills public access requirements.
The Record asked LCRA several specific questions about the irrigation proposal and the change regarding heavy rainfall events. Tuma said the answers could be found in the documents at City Hall. When the Record went to inspect the documents last Friday, no one at City Hall knew anything about them. City staff later discovered that a person from LCRA came to City Hall about a week before and placed the binders on a table in the lobby without telling anyone, they said.
They said LCRA never told them about the public notice or that members of the public could view the documents.
TCEQ has not scheduled a public hearing on the application from LCRA. The agency stated that it will hold a public meeting “if the executive director determines that there is a significant degree of public interest in the application or if requested by a local legislator.”
TCEQ is accepting public comments on LCRA’s application. Public comments and requests must be submitted either electronically at www14.tceq.texas.gov/epic/eComment/ or in writing to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, Office of the Chief Clerk, MC105, P.O. Box 13087, Austin, Texas 78711-3087.
Requests for a public hearing must be mailed to the address above.