Cove police officers ride the rails, conduct traffic stops at crossings

By LYNETTE SOWELL

On Tuesday morning, the Copperas Cove Police Department and BNSF Railway held “Officer on the Train.” The CCPD participated in the event which is part of International Level Crossing Awareness Day. The idea behind it is to give police officers the chance to get a perspective of a locomotive engineer as they ride the rails. In addition to having officers on the train, patrol officers were also posted at each railroad crossing and conducted traffic stops for drivers and pedestrians who disregarded the railroad warning devices. During the three-hour period, locomotives crossed back and forth at the city’s railroad crossings at more regular intervals than normal. “There were about 20 contacts made,” said Sgt. Martin Ruiz, with the Copperas Cove Police Department. “We also spoke to three pedestrians.” Ruiz said this was the first time Copperas Cove participated in this event, and its purpose was for safety and awareness. In August, a Kempner driver was ejected from his truck after it was struck by a train while crossing Grimes Crossing Road. In addition to the Grimes Crossing Road intersection, there are four other railroad crossings in Copperas Cove. Texas law requires motorists to stop no closer than 15 feet or farther than 50 feet from the nearest rail. They must also stop when a barrier starts down and remain stopped until it is completely back up and stopped. Walking on railroad tracks and crossing tracks at other than designated crossings is also illegal. Texas has the highest number of trespassing incidents resulting in injury or death.