The Houston METRO transit company has released video of a frightening close call at one of their stations involving a moving train, a little boy, and a matter of mere inches between the two.
Their message for commuters: be careful.
“Remember, our trains weigh about 50 tons, which is the equivalent of seven fully-grown African elephants!” the company said in a statement on Facebook. “They can’t easily or quickly stop even if traveling slowly. Keep this in mind when a train is approaching a platform.”
The video was released last Friday by the company as a warning for commuters, with traffic expected to pick up in the summer months.
“It’s closer to the summer months when we’ll have more people on our train system and we really wanted to talk to parents about telling and warning their kids about the potential dangers of playing around the metro rail or crossing the metro rail,” Jackie Gill, a media specialist at Houston METRO, told CBS News.
The video shows two boys chasing after each other at a METRO station as a train approaches. One boy darts across the tracks as the other follows — with the train bearing down just feet away.
The conductor blasted his horn, which apparently alerted the boy to the imminent danger. He stopped in his tracks and doubled back, avoiding an impact by just inches.
Houston METRO says the video was taken this past October. They are not releasing the boy’s name or any further information, hoping the video serves as a shock-value reminder of the importance of following safety procedures when riding the train.
“We want to let the public know to just be aware of their surroundings,” Gill said.