An adult pedestrian was struck and killed Friday morning after attempting to cross tracks ahead of an oncoming DART Blue Line train near Newman and Austin streets in Garland. The collision, which happened around 7 a.m., prompted authorities to shut down several intersections along West Walnut Street and forced DART to suspend rail service through the area during the morning commute.
According to Dallas Express, the pedestrian died at the scene after trying to cross the tracks in front of the train. Garland police said in a statement that DART requested help controlling traffic just before 7 a.m., a request that required shutting down multiple intersections for several hours while crews worked the scene, according to the Garland Police Department. Separate reporting from FOX 4 Dallas-Fort Worth noted the closures stretched along Garland Road between Walnut and State streets, with DART running bus shuttles between the Forest/Jupiter and Downtown Garland stations while the Blue Line was down.
Roads and Rail Service Back to Normal
Once the scene was cleared, authorities reopened the closed roads and traffic in Garland returned to normal. The affected train stations also reopened after the disruption, and DART's bus bridge between Forest/Jupiter and Downtown Garland was no longer needed once trains resumed running.
The Blue Line is DART's primary commuter route through Garland into Downtown Dallas, part of a light rail network that spans 93 miles and 65 stations across nine member cities, according to Dallas Area Rapid Transit. Trains on that network can reach speeds up to 65 mph along dedicated rights-of-way, per Railway Technology, leaving little room for operators to stop once a pedestrian steps onto the tracks.
A Painful Echo of 2023
Friday's fatality is not the first along this corridor. In May 2023, 17-year-old Garland High School senior Francisco “Poncho” Chavez was struck and killed by a DART train near Shiloh Road and the Forest/Jupiter station while walking home from the gym, FOX 4 reported at the time. Chavez had been reported missing before authorities confirmed he had been struck.
The two deaths, more than three years apart but along the same Garland rail corridor, point to a recurring safety challenge at grade-level crossings where pedestrians step onto tracks outside designated crosswalks. DART safety guidance urges pedestrians to cross only at marked crosswalks, to look both ways, and to avoid stepping in front of an approaching train; the agency also advises riders to stay behind the textured warning strips on station platforms.
The Legal and Rail-Safety Backdrop
Unauthorized crossings onto railroad tracks or rights-of-way carry legal consequences in Texas. Under Texas Penal Code § 28.07, entering or remaining on a railroad right-of-way without consent is classified as a Class C misdemeanor, according to FindLaw. Federal data shows trespassing on rail rights-of-way remains a leading cause of rail-related deaths nationally, per the Doan Law Firm.
Friday's crash happened just before 7 a.m.
