HOUSTON - The First Court of Appeals has affirmed a ruling denying the City of Houston’s motion to dismiss a wrongful death suit brought after a teenage girl was struck and killed by a train passing through a public park.
The girl’s parents sued the city claiming premises liability and gross negligence. In response, the city asserted it had immunity and filed a Rule 91a motion to dismiss, which the trial court denied, leading to the appeal.
In their amended petition, the plaintiffs alleged that on Nov. 15, 2022, their daughter, who was seventeen at the time, “was struck and killed by a fast-moving Union Pacific train running through Memorial Park.”
The plaintiffs also alleged that city “officials were aware that pedestrians habitually accessed the tracks” and they were aware “of the extreme danger the active tracks presented to those pedestrians.”
The girl was at the park with a friend and walked along what appeared to be abandoned tracks at an area of the park where she had never visited before. There were no “fencing or other barriers” or “signs that warned of active train lines,” court records state.
As the girls walked along the tracks, the tracks crossed over Memorial Drive on two bridges. The girls stopped to draw with chalk on one of the bridges and then stopped to sit and talk when they saw a train coming toward them. Only one of the girls was able to dodge the train.
In its reply brief, the city argued that the railroad tracks were “open and obvious,” and therefore it had no duty to warn the girl of any danger posed by the tracks.
On Nov. 25, the First Court concluded the plaintiffs’ allegations are sufficient to overcome the open and obvious argument asserted by the city, affirming the trial court’s order denying the city’s motion to dismiss.
Appeals case No. 01-25-00016-CV