Five years after a freight train crashed into a float carrying wounded war heroes at a Midland, Texas parade, family members of three men killed are asking Texas’ top court to reevaluate the dismissal of their wrongful death claims.

The flatbed trailer serving as a parade float was struck by a Union Pacific train traveling 62 mph through a rail crossing. Army Sgt. Maj. Lawrence Boivin, 47, Marine Chief Warrant Officer 3 Gary Stouffer, 37, Army Sgt. Maj. William Lubbers, 43, and retired Army Sgt. Joshua Michael, 34, were killed. More than a dozen other people were injured.

In a petition filed today, lawyers for the Boivin, Stouffer and Lubbers families argue that a lower court erred in deciding that though the crossing in question was designed to provide 30 seconds of warning, Union Pacific satisfied federal law by providing only 20.4 seconds of warning.

This is an extremely important case, not just for the families of these three veterans, but also for all Texans, whether they are crossing the railroad tracks in Midland or in any other city or town,  said Austin attorney Doug Alexander of Alexander Dubose Jefferson & Townsend, who filed the petition.
A full copy of the petition is below and linked here.

For more information or to set up an interview, contact Mark Annick at 800-559-4534 or mark@androvett.com.