Man nearly killed by CapMetro rail car

AUSTIN (KXAN) - An Austin man said he was nearly killed at a Capitol Metro rail crossing last week because of a malfunctioning warning rail.

He said he has witnesses to prove it. Jamel Houston said he was crossing the tracks at MLK and Airport boulevards on May 28, when, without warning, a train passed inches in front of him.

Houston's sudden life-saving stop caused the woman behind him to rear end his truck. Houston suffered a fractured arm and loss of work. Alana Marimon, the woman in the trailing car, said "If he hadn't stopped so short, that train would have struck him. Mr. Houston is lucky to be alive."

CapMetro is still conducting practice runs on its Leander to Austin line, and they said a few crossings still need safety signal calibrating, including the MLK and Airport location.

CapMetro provides human "flaggers" at some of those crossings, but not all the time. They also said last week's incident is still under risk management review, but both Houston and Marimon insist the agency has ignored their repeated calls.

Houston said he is still haunted by his brush with death, "I wake up every morning shaking, nervous, sweating. I think I’m supposed to be dead and I [keep] dreaming about the train that's supposed to kill me. I'm hearing that horn too much."