The driver of a light rail train that struck a cyclist in the Texas Medical Center had received permission to pass with caution through a track signal that warns not to proceed, according to documents on the Feb. 8 accident.
The documents, released by the Metropolitan Transit Authority in response to a Houston Chronicle open records request, also say the cyclist told Metro police, "It was my fault. I did not see the train when I was going through the crosswalk."
The driver was identified as Shermone Granderson, 29, who graduated from light rail training last Dec. 14, after being hired by Metro in June 2006 as a bus operator. The cyclist was identified as Mariana Pinheiro. Neither could be reached for comment.
(snip)
Metro previously said the accident was preventable and that the train operator received a five-day suspension and 40 hours of retraining. Metro also released a video that shows the train moving forward while a horizontal bar signal, similar to a red light for motorists, is visible ahead.
The police report quotes Granderson: "I was told to go through the horizontal bar, and as I was passing the crosswalk, a lady on a bicycle rolled out in front of me."
A report on her disciplinary action confirms that Granderson "had been given authorization to pass horizontal bar signals as needed, due to an existing emergency situation."
Metro has said there was an earlier accident on the line that had delayed Granderson's train and others.
"She sounded her gong and proceeded southbound," the report says. "A bicyclist entered the path of the train and Operator Granderson was unable to stop short of making contact."
She probably didn't see the train because she wasn't looking for the train, she was looking at the crossing sign that was (probably) flashing "walk" at the time. It's not unreasonable, when given a walk sign, to assume that she thought the coast was clear. That being said there's never an excuse not to check both ways before crossing the street even with a protected signal in your favor.
More troubling than that however, and something that doesn't seem to be drawing any criticism, is Metro's apparent policy of allowing drivers to ignore traffic laws in order to get the trains back running on time. We already know that Metro Police Chief Tom Lambert values revenue generation over public safety and it now seems that adherence to the schedule outranks safety as well.
And none of this is on the receiving end of any serious skepticism by Houston's newspaper of record.
"What part of the train can run a stop-signal at any time it damn-well pleases don't you understand?"
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