Conway police identify man struck by train

Conway police have identified a pedestrian struck by a train Thursday night in Conway as Marco Antonio Hernandez of 1900 Dave Ward Drive. Hernandez was listed in critical condition at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) on Saturday afternoon.

Conway Police Department Public Information Officer Sharen Carter said that the man’s identity was unknown for a time because he was not carrying anything to identify him and was unresponsive when police and medical personnel arrived on the scene.

Carter said that to her knowledge police were still unsure of his identity Friday night, but had since made contact with a family member who confirmed his identity. Hernandez’s date of birth remained unknown on Saturday, Carter said. A UAMS representative said the hospital would not disclose the man’s age.

Police responding after the incident was reported by member of the train crew found Hernandez lying unconscious about eight feet away from the tracks near Bruce Street with injuries one officer observed as “a large laceration on his head, broken arm, broken leg,” according to a police report. Nearby were found a headband, shoe, wallet and cell phone that had apparently been knocked from Hernandez in the impact.

The train involved was pulling 100 cars and stretched over a mile in length, according to Union Pacific spokesperson Raquel Espinoza-Williams. The stopping distance of such a train at speed would be measured in thousands of feet. Williams said there were no updates in the investigation to be released on Saturday.

“What we know is this happened at a crossing that was equipped with lights and gates which were activated,” Espinoza-Williams said.

A Conway patrolman interviewed the train crew after the incident, and this officer’s supplemental report is mentioned in the report released on Friday. Carter said she wouldn’t release this supplemental report without authorization from the Union Pacific Railroad Police, which she said was the main investigating agency in this incident.

Espinoza-Williams contacted Carter at about 5 p.m. Saturday and said that she would not authorized CPD to release the supplemental reports at that time.

(Staff writer Joe Lamb can be reached at 505-1238 or by E-mail at joe.lamb@thecabin.net. Send us your news at www.thecabin.net/submit.)