Motorist Dies After Colliding with Derailed Union Pacific Car on Texas Highway

A woman has died after her vehicle collided with a derailed Union Pacific rail car that had come to rest across a North Texas highway, according to reports from emergency officials in Collinsville. The crash happened in the early morning hours of Sunday, August 16, and the driver passed away from her injuries two days later.

Train Derailment Near U.S. 377 in Collinsville, TX

Just after 5:20 a.m. on Sunday, the Collinsville Fire Department received a call reporting a vehicle-versus-train collision near the intersection of U.S. Highway 377 and County Line Church Road, roughly 64 miles north of Fort Worth. When crews arrived, they discovered that a Union Pacific freight train had derailed and 23 of its cars had left the tracks, FOX 4 Dallas-Fort Worth reported. At least one of the derailed cars had come to rest across both lanes of U.S. 377.

Collinsville Fire Chief Damon Stewart told KXII that responding crews found a scene that was not what they had anticipated. "Arriving on scene, obviously, I did not find a vehicle versus train at the crossing," Stewart said. Instead, his team was confronted with train cars lying across the highway. Shortly after their arrival, a southbound passenger vehicle collided with one of the derailed cars, leaving the driver critically injured.

The woman was airlifted to a hospital in Denton. On August 18, Trains Magazine reported that she had died of her injuries.

According to Union Pacific, the train involved was carrying 155 cars in total, of which 23 derailed. The railroad confirmed that no hazardous materials were involved, that no injuries were sustained by the train's crew, and that train traffic through the area resumed the following morning. U.S. 377 was closed for approximately 19 hours after the crash and reopened by 12:30 a.m. on Monday.

The cause of the derailment remains under investigation.

Train Derailments Are More Common Than Most Realize

Federal data shows that train derailments occur, on average, roughly three times a day in the United States. Many of these incidents occur in rail yards at low speeds, causing no injuries and never making national news. But high-profile derailments in recent years, including the 2023 East Palestine, Ohio disaster, have brought renewed attention to railroad safety.

Union Pacific alone has had several notable derailments in the state in recent months. In March, 23 rail cars of a Union Pacific train derailed near the Richmond-Rosenberg city limits in Fort Bend County. In April, seven freight cars derailed in downtown Austin. In August 2025, 35 cars derailed in Palo Pinto County, west of Fort Worth.

When a derailment causes injury or death, questions inevitably follow. Was the train being properly maintained? Were the tracks in good repair? Were the operators following required protocols? Was the response to secure a highway obstruction fast enough to warn approaching motorists? As Texas train accident lawyers who have represented survivors and families after serious collisions and derailments, we fight to get these questions answered.

Our thoughts are with the family and loved ones of the woman who lost her life. As investigators work to determine what caused the derailment, we hope answers come quickly for the family left to carry this loss.