Milby High School student's death sparks town hall meeting to address railroad concerns, safety

HOUSTON - Community members gathered Saturday morning to demand improved railroad safety following the loss of Sergio Rodriguez. The 15-year-old sophomore was struck by a train on Monday while he was walking to school. 

"It’s sad that it takes a tragedy for a kid for this to happen," said one community member attending the meeting. 

The League of United Latin American Citizens held a town hall meeting to address safety concerns following Rodriguez's passing.

RELATED: East End community mourns loss of Milby High student killed by train, officials seek safety solutions

"We have to continue to work together to make sure this doesn’t happen again and no child is injured or harmed in any way crossing the tracks," said Representative Sylvia Garcia. 

LULAC Council 60 invited Houston Independent School District officials, local leaders, and Union Pacific to address the dangerous railroad crossing and find a safer route for students. 

"I think we should think of the area where the trains are around the school much like a school zone," said Representative Garcia. 

"Some of the other ones is how do we get law enforcement support in securing these railroads as students trying to cross it rather than having faculty do it," said Representative Garcia.

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The loss of the student also gained attention from Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick and Houston Mayor John Whitmire. Patrick said he supports Mayor Whitmire’s call for Union Pacific to pay for a pedestrian bridge for Milby High School students to get to school safely. 

"The first idea, of course, is to build a bridge so that there will be a crossway for the kids and then ultimately getting the funding that we need for an overpass over the railroad track," said Representative Garcia.