HOUSTON — The family 15-year-old Milby High School student, Sergio Rodriguez who was hit and killed by a train earlier this week, have now filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Union Pacific Railroad.
The tragic incident happened Monday morning in southeast Houston while the sophomore was on his way to school.
Attorneys Ryan Zehl with Zehl & Associates and Richard Nava with Nava Law Group are representing the boy’s parents. They said the family is suing both Union Pacific Railroad and a third-party train operator accusing them of negligence.
The nine-page lawsuit claims the area where the incident occurred is a well-known pedestrian crossing frequented by students and residents, but despite knowing this it alleges Union Pacific still didn't put proper safety measures in place to protect the community.
The lawsuit also alleges the train was operating at an "excessive and unreasonable speed" and that the train operator failed to sound the horn prior to the train striking the boy.
"Had Union Pacific heeded and followed the concerns that were expressed by the neighborhood for years, before this tragedy happened, we wouldn't be here today,” said attorney, Ryan Zehl with Zehl & Associates. "Sergio would be at school he'd go home to his family and spend the holidays with them."
Both attorneys said this was a preventable tragedy and Sergio's family now wants to make sure something like this never happens again.
"They want answers, they want to know the systemic failures of how this has transpired over time,” said attorney Richard Nava with Nava Law Group.
A spokesperson for Union Pacific responded Wednesday, reminding the public to be cautious around trains. The full statement read:
"Union Pacific shares Houston’s grief following Monday’s heartbreaking event when a teenager made a tragic decision to try and outrun a moving train. We want to remind students and others to only cross train tracks at designated crossings and never ignore train horns or the lights and safety gates. Our hearts go out to the family, students and the train crew who witnessed this terrible incident.
The family is seeking over a $1 million in damages.