by SEAN KIMMONS
An apparently deaf woman was almost hit by a Union Pacific train Saturday as crowds converged in downtown Buda for its annual Budafest celebration, police say. The train sounded its horn but still had to come to a complete stop to prevent a tragic incident, authorities say.
“She was just standing there on the track, facing the other way,” Buda Police Chief Bo Kidd said Tuesday.
By the time officers arrived, the woman had walked off and wasn’t questioned. Officers on scene were told that the woman was deaf, Kidd said.
Kidd said that Union Pacific was notified before the event to slow down while traveling through the city to avoid collisions.
The train was stopped for about 10 minutes, blocking traffic to the event, as crewmembers inspected the train before moving again, Kidd said.
Many people step across the train tracks as a shortcut to get to festival areas, such as Buda City Park and the city’s greenbelt, during the city’s annual festivities.
Walking along the tracks is against the law and pedestrians should avoid them, except at marked crossings.
“The safest thing to do is cross the tracks at the crossings,” Kidd said.
Ramon Zapata, 16, was killed Dec. 1 when he was struck by a Union Pacific train as he walked along the railroad tracks about a quarter mile south from downtown Kyle. The incident is still under investigation.
