What started as a celebration of wounded veterans ended in shocking tragedy.
The veterans gathered in Midland, Texas for the “Hunt for Heroes” event, which was set to include a parade, a banquet and hunting trip to honor their services. During the parade, two flatbed trucks carried veterans and their spouses onboard. One truck passed safely over a set of train tracks. A Union Pacific train hit the second float, killing four people and injuring over a dozen others.
Now, a Colorado veteran who survived the train accident is returning home to recover from a spinal cord injury and hopefully learn to walk again. Sgt. 1st Class Richard Sanchez said the last thing he remembers clearly is the crossing guard arm dropping in front of his chest while the truck crossed the track.
“Everything from there kind of went into fast-forward,” he told the Colorado Springs Gazette. He says he pushed his wife out of the way just before the crash. She suffered some minor bruising.
The National Transportation Safety Board is examining the accident to find out who might be at fault. The driver, a veteran, is “catatonic”, “very much in shock” and “beyond distraught”, according to his attorneys. Preliminary investigations suggest that he began driving over the tracks after the signals began to sound.
We wish Sanchez and the other injured victims a speedy recovery. Spinal cord injuries are devastating injuries that often have lifelong consequences and staggering medical costs. We can help victims find ways to pay for these costs if someone else’s negligence contributed to the injury. To learn more, contact our firm at (866) 377-3800 or visit our site to learn more about spinal cord injuries.
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