Students dodging trains on their way to Houston elementary school

 

HOUSTON—Kids are dodging trains on their way to a northeast Houston school, a practice parents and crossing guards are calling a ticking timebomb.

"Kids can’t get to school on time because the trains just sit here," said Otis Ward, who walks his son, daughter and a nephew to school each morning. "It’s definitely a major problem and someone’s going to get hurt."

The kids attend E.O. Smith Elementary School and live in a neighborhood just north of the train tracks, about four blocks behind the school.

"I’ve seen my friends crawling under the trains to try and beat them," said Zacobi Davis, an 11-year-old fifth-grader at E.O. Smith.

The problems along the tracks have been documented before. In 2003, a student lost his leg trying to beat a train. Partially in response, the district posted crossing guards at designated crossover points.

One guard believes that sooner or later, someone’s going to be killed.

"It’s a ticking timebomb," said crossing guard Lee Morgan. "The kids cross way down on the tracks and there’s very little I can do."

Some parents want HISD to bus their kids to school. But the district only provides bus service to students who live more than two miles from a school.

Union Pacific Railroad is planning to stage a safety seminar for E.O. Smith students possibly as early as next week.

In the meantime, crossing guards and parents will continue to watch and worry.

"I just hope something happens before it’s too late," said Morgan.