Driver killed in METRO bus wreck in SE Houston

Police are investigating a wreck that killed a METRO bus driver in southeast Houston Tuesday evening.

  HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Officials say a METRO bus driver was killed in a wreck in southeast Houston Tuesday evening.

METRO police and safety personnel are investigating the accident that occurred on the service road of the Gulf Freeway just north of Howard shortly before 7pm Tuesday.

Preliminary information shows METRO bus operator James Brooks lost control of the vehicle, which crashed into a concrete traffic sign pole along the Gulf Freeway's feeder road. A witness reported to investigators that a vehicle made a right turn in front of another vehicle that was ahead of the bus. Brooks reportedly swerved to avoid rear-ending that vehicle, lost control of the bus and then struck the pole.

The bus was not in service and there were no patrons onboard the bus. Investigators state the bus was not equipped with cameras.

METRO staff sends its condolences to the family of 63-year-old Brooks, who had been part of the METRO family since 1983.

"While spending time with James' colleagues at the Polk Facility this morning it became very clear that he was loved and respected. He would always try to make people smile. He cared deeply about his own family and his METRO family," said METRO President & CEO George Greanias.

METRO officials are offering support to Brooks' family. Crisis counseling will be made available to all employees at the Polk Bus Operating Facility where Brooks worked.

(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Local »

local

View the original article here

METRO president George Greanias plans to resign

  HOUSTON (KTRK) -- METRO has confirmed that its president and CEO is resigning.

METRO has not said what prompted Geoorge Greanias to resign, only that he is expected to hand in his letter of resignation on Monday.

Greanias took over on an interim basis in May 2010 after former President and CEO Frank Wilson resigned over a scandal involving alleged misuse of money and document shredding. The interim tag was dropped in September of that same year.

(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Local »

local

View the original article here

METRO unveils newly designed light rail train

METRO Monday unveiled its newly designed light rail train.

  HOUSTON (KTRK) -- METRO light rail users will be riding a new train for the first time in nearly a decade.

The agency Monday unveiled the car at its rail operations center in southwest Houston. The vehicle is expected to be tested and placed into service before the end of the year.

According to METRO, the train has extra horizontal bars for passenger safety, better storage for bicycles, and additional air conditioning for the Houston heat.

The vehicle is the first of 19 new rail cars for the expanding light rail lines.

(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Local »

metro, local

View the original article here

Teen hit by METRO bus loses leg, still critical

  Crystal KobzaHOUSTON (KTRK) -- Nearly two weeks after a teenager was hit by a METRO bus while crossing Bellaire Boulevard, she remains in critical condition.

Charmaine James, an 18-year-old Hasting High School student, is only in the beginning stages of recovery after being hit by a METRO bus on October 1.

We spoke to her mother -- Chandre Rogers, a METRO bus driver herself -- on Sunday about her recovery and the road she has ahead.

The accident caused severe damage to Charmaine's right leg.

"They amputated her right foot and then yesterday they had to go above her knee," Rogers explained.

Rogers said her daughter and a friend made it across the first set of lanes on Bellaire and into the median. Her daughter then attempted to make it all the way across, she said, but she was hit by the bus.

"Her friend told me that she was knocked like 15 feet," Rogers said.

Rogers said she works out of the same West bus operating facility, but does not know the driver who struck her daughter.

She added that her co-workers have been helping her through this difficult time.

'I have a friend of mine, Ms. Vanessa. She has been here with me from day one," Roger said. "The first night, my superintendent from our garage, they were there."

As for Charmaine, her mother tells us she has been heavily sedated since the accident. The only thing her daughter has said that she was able to understand was when she tried to ask what happened.

'I put God first and I know He is going to take care of my baby," Rogers said. "She is still in critical condition, but I have faith in God that she is going to pull through this."

Rogers says her daughter is an aspiring biology teacher and she will be there every step of the way as this long journey of healing begins.

The investigation into the accident is still underway. METRO police say the driver of the bus, 61-year-old Otis Stewart, is not working at this time.

So far, no citations have been issued.

(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Local »

local

View the original article here

6 injured when pickup crashes into METRO bus

  HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Six people were injured when a Houston METRO bus T-boned a pickup truck Saturday.

It happened in northeast Houston on Laura Koppe near the Eastex Freeway.

Police say the driver of the pickup ran a red light.

The impact blew out the windshield of the truck.

Two people in the pickup and four people on the bus were transported to area hospitals. None of them were seriously injured, officials said.

The driver of the pickup received a citation for running the light and not having a license.

(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Local »

local

View the original article here

METRO rail closure this weekend

  HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A section of the METRO rail is closed this weekend in downtown Houston as part of an expansion project.

The closure is underway on Main Street between Texas and Walker.

METRO is currently expanding its light rail with three new lines under construction.

Businesses on Main Street will still be open during the closure, but the rail won't reopen until 4am Monday.

Check real-time traffic information in our ABC13.com traffic section

(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Houston Traffic »

houston traffic

View the original article here

Real Estate Agent In Houston Metro Area

METRO puts off plans for university rail line

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- We're investigating millions of dollars in METRO's broken promises; money set aside for a major rail line that may now be wasted.

Over the last decade, METRO spent $71 million of your dollars to build a rail line. But the agency recently took that project off the table for at least another decade and no work has been done.

So where did all that money go?

Ten years ago, METRO promised to build a light rail line starting out on Hillcroft through Montrose, downtown, out past TSU, UH and stopping just east of 45.

Ten years later, nothing's been built on the University Line and nothing will be built until at least 2025 if METRO gets its way.

"It think this is a sad day for Houston," said David Robinson with the Neartown Houston Association.

Robinson lives along the route in Neartown. He patiently waited, even supported METRO's plan to wait. But now he feels duped.

"We don't understand how we were sold out," Robinson said.

"Why repair something you are going to tear up again? So currently, the streets have become really terrible," Former Houston City Councilwoman Sue Lovell said.

Lovell says the city held off on road repairs, waiting on light rail and now there's no money to fix the raods.

"Nobody's told us now what's going to happen on this corridor," she said.

"We're trying to close the gap," METRO Board Chairman Gilbert Garcia said.

METRO says they simply don't have the money to do this now and won't for more than a decade. But METRO's already spent $71 million on the project, even as recently as last year.

"We believe that every dollar of taxpayer money, whether it comes from the fare box, tax money or federal money, we need to spend it as wisely as possible," METRO CEO George Grenias said.

In fact, if METRO hadn't spent the money on studies and land and lawyers and meetings and newspaper ads, they could've taken $71 million bills and laid them down along the route, paving it from curb to curb and then some with your money.

"It's an enormous amount of money," Garcia said.

The agency spent $14 million studying on environmental studies that will soon be out of date. METRO spent another $2.5 million on land appraisals, and they're no good anymore. So that's $16.5 million gone. And METRO spent $54 million studying possible routes and picking the final one, only some of which may be useful in 10 years, but who knows.

"We're not going to get ahead of ourselves," Grenias said.

Not METRO. And they won't do the work to figure out how many of your dollars were really wasted until after a November METRO referendum.

"By why shouldn't voters have that information before they vote?" we asked Grenias.

"The voters, I think, have all the information that we have. We've told them everything we know," he said.

But it's not enough for the people who live along the rocky road that was going to be a rail line.

"Yeah ok, we're angry. I think that's a fair statement," Robinson said.

Tired of the bumps and tired of bad promises, some of METRO's strongest supporters have had enough.

"People feel betrayed," Lovell said.

METRO provided all the numbers for the money it's already spent, and points out that is proof they are approaching things differently these days - showing their hands warts and all.

METRO officials issued the following statement late Friday night:

"The METRO Board has not scrapped plans for the University Line. While work has slowed down METRO has not pulled this project out of its rail expansion program. The transit agency is being fiscally responsible, and as we have stated in the past, METRO will proceed with rail expansion as funds become available. Please keep in mind that we are currently constructing three new light rail lines that will be open to the public in 2014."

(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more In Focus »

in focus, ted oberg

View the original article here

Man allegedly claimed cup would blow up METRO light rail train

Alan Tadeo Baker, 45, is charged with terroristic threat.

  HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Officials have charged a man with making a terroristic threat after he allegedly called in a bomb threat to Houston's light rail line.

On August 27, a METRO Transit Authority customer service operator received a phone call during which the caller said he had left a cup on the light rail vehicle that might explode, blowing up the train. According to court documents, METRO police found that the call came from a phone number belonging to Alan Tadeo Baker.

Surveillance video also reportedly showed a man who matched Baker's description board the train, place his cup in a seat and then exit again, leaving the cup behind. Officials say the surveillance video also showed the man attempting to get back on the train, but the doors had closed and the train was pulling away from the station.

Police say further investigation matched up Baker's use of his Q-card, video and audio surveillance and the recorded threatening phone call.

Baker, 45, is charged with terroristic threat, a felony charge. Bond has not been set in the case.

(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Local »

metro, local

View the original article here

Sketch released in METRO bus stop armed robbery

One of the suspects is described as a black male, approximately 25 to 35 years old with a thin build. He had a distinctive tattoo of a leaf on the left side of his face. At the time of the crime, he wore a black shirt, black pants and a black ball cap.

  HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Police need your help to find two suspects who they say robbed a female victim at a Houston bus stop, and now they have a sketch of one of them.

The alleged robbery happened at around 1pm on March 28. A female victim was waiting at the METRO bus stop near the 8600 block of Westheimer when police say she was approached by two unidentified males.

The first suspect grabbed her and held her hands behind her back, while the second held a knife to her face and threatened her if she screamed. Police say that second suspect then cut the strap of her purse and both suspects took off running into a nearby apartment complex.

The first suspect is described as a black male, approximately 25 to 35 years old. At the time of the crime, he wore a red shirt, red pants and a red baseball cap.

The second suspect is described as a black male, approximately 25 to 35 years old with a thin build. He had a distinctive tattoo of a leaf on the left side of his face. At the time of the crime, he wore a black shirt, black pants and a black ball cap.

The sketch above is of the second suspect in this case.

Anyone with information about his identity is asked to contact Crime Stoppers of Houston at (713) 222-TIPS (8477).

(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Local »

local

View the original article here

METRO considers axing aid for cities' road maintenance

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Millions of you pay sales tax to help fund METRO transit. Many of our cities get some of it back in a refund. METRO is thinking about doing away with it and that would mean higher taxes.

Riders only fund 10 percent of METRO service. The bulk of METRO money comes from sales tax in the city of Houston and 14 other nearby cities. It's one cent of the sales tax.

METRO gives the cities back a quarter of the one-cent sales tax they collect back to Houston and the other member cities and it has for more than a decade. It's money that goes to help build and maintain the roads. But METRO is now thinking about asking voters for permission to end those payments.

Hedwig Village isn't the biggest city around.

"Hedwig Village is about a mile square," Hedwig Village Mayor Sue Speck said.

But losing this METRO mobility money there would be a huge blow.

"We'll either raise taxes 50 percent or we will cut some services," Speck said.

In case you don't believe her, listen closely.

"You're talking about a 50-percent tax raise?" we asked.

"Or more," Speck said.

Which is why she and 13 other small city mayors are opposed to any METRO plan that would eliminate the millions in mobility payouts. On Friday, METRO laid out two scenarios: one would keep the system the same, the other would do away with the payments entirely.

"I've paid my fair share," Missouri City Mayor Allen Owne said.

That second scenario didn't go over well at all.

"I am here to advocate for Rebuild Houston and a compromise position," Houston City Councilman Stephen Costello said.

Costello said the full cut would be devastating to the city's plans to rebuild roads and drainage projects in Houston.

METRO says if the payout system stays the same, it won't be able to expand the light rail until after 2030, that bus service expansions would be limited and the system wouldn't be able to sell new bonds for 15 years.

"We are on sound financial condition in terms of the services we offer today; the question is what expansion we can see in the future, METRO board member Christof Speiler said.

But the cities use the payments for road and mobility projects, more than a billion dollars' worth since 1999.

In Hedwig Village, $7 million of the money upgraded the city's main east-west road, impossible without the METRO payout.

"I think that they're going to deal with us and we're going to come up with a fair compromise," Speck said.

Officially, there is no METRO proposal yet. The agency says it's listening to public opinion. They certainly heard a lot on Friday.

We're not talking about small sums of money. These are the payouts between 1999 and 2011:

City of Houston $830 millionHarris County - $ 239 millionMulti-cities - $209 millionTotal - $1.278 billion

METRO will ultimately ask you the public to vote, likely in November.

(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more In Focus »

in focus, ted oberg

View the original article here

Part of METRO rail shut down tomorrow for maintenance

  HOUSTON (KTRK) -- If you're relying on METRO light rail to get around this weekend, there's a service interruption you need to know about.

Crews will be doing maintenance work on the line between Hermann Park/Rice University and UH Downtown from Saturday at 3am until midnight Sunday.

While the rail is shut down, rail customers will be served by No. 700 rail shuttle buses running parallel to the rail line both north and south between the Hermann Park/Rice University and Preston stations. They won't be able to access the UH-Downtown station due to construction.

METRO says it'll have people on hand to help you out.

(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Local »

local

View the original article here

METRO bus driver fired after deadly accident

  HOUSTON (KTRK) -- METRO officials fired the bus driver who was behind the wheel of a deadly accident last month.

Witnesses say a man walked into the side of a bus pulling into a station at Wheeler and Main on April 17. The man fell and was run over by the back wheels.

After an investigation METRO determined the driver, Mark Upchurch, could have taken measures to prevent that accident. Upchurch has been with METRO for 12 years.

The Harris County District Attorney's office will conduct it's own investigation.

(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Local »

metro, local

View the original article here

METRO bus involved in multi-vehicle accident in NW Houston

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A METRO bus has been involved in a multi-vehicle accident in northwest Houston.

According to a METRO spokesperson, a bus driver heading southbound on Antoine near Hempstead Road failed to stop for some reason, bumping into the car in front of him. The impact caused a chain reaction.

Officials on the scene say 11 vehicles were involved. Preliminary numbers indicate at least nine people were taken to hospitals -- both passengers from the bus and drivers caught up in this crash. The bus driver was one of those transported to a hospital.

"I was just sitting in my car," recalled accident victim Mike Porter, who was uninjured in the wreck. "I was in the middle of it, so it was bam, bam."

Sgt. Jorge Roman with METRO Police said, "From the information I have, neck and back injuries to two people in private vehicles, and seven people from the bus."

People on stretchers were lining the median at the scene. Some were wearing neck braces.

The cause of this crash is still under investigation. It is not known why the bus driver failed to stop.

(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Local »

metro, local, sonia azad

View the original article here

METRO faces public backlash over counter-terror intitiave

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- METRO is promising to get to the bottom of what happened when its own police department invited TSA to stare down bus passengers two weeks ago.

METRO first said it would search passengers' bags, then said that didn't happen. Now, METRO says it never will.

The METRO counter-terrorism exercise didn't round up any terrorists. Instead, 81 officers arrested 14 people, predominantly alleged prostitutes and dope smokers. More problematic for METRO is that it seemed to anger and confuse some of the agency's riders who weren't eager to have their bags searched.

"There are an awful lot of assets out here," METRO police chief Victor Rodriguez told Eyewitness News on April 13.

Two weeks after METRO made a big deal about bringing TSA to bus stops for a counter-terrorism exercise, dozens of angry citizens came to tell METRO to keep TSA away.

"We are here to loudly condemn METRO's recent violations of the United States constitution," Houston lawyer Robert Fickman said.

"You've gone one step too far by bringing the TSA into our house," another concerned resident said.

"In my opinion, the METRO board doesn't get it," said another.

On April 13, the METRO Police Department invited TSA to be a part of its bus-safe exercise. METRO said then and repeated for days afterwards there would be random searches of bus and train passengers' bags.

"To get inside my bag, it's my personal items. I am not going to let you in my bag unless you have a warrant," concerned resident Keith Francis said.

After an uproar, METRO says it never did any bag searches and never intended to, that the official METRO blog saying so was just a mistake.

"There was never an intention to do bag searches," METRO President and Chairman George Grenias said.

But for METRO rider Derrick Broze, it's not enough.

"I don't feel that by purchasing a ticket or riding a bus, I have to forfeit my constitutional rights to my protections and be subject to search or seizure," Broze said.

A friend of Broze took pictures of the bus-safe exercise that he says show TSA agents and METRO police asking riders where they're going as they get off the bus and how often they ride that route.

"METRO and TSA were going onto the buses and questioning people about their normal routes and their normal behavior, and it just kind of creates an atmosphere of fear," Broze said.

There aren't any photos of searches and METRO says none were done. After Thursday's showdown, the METRO chairman said it will stay that way so long as he is chairman.

"It's not going to happen while I am chairman -- putting in place random searches and seizures. We're going to get to the bottom of this and we'll have a lot more dialogue," Garcia said.

The METRO police chief told us last week he hoped to repeat the exercise within the next few weeks. No such promise was made on Thursday.

(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more In Focus »

metro, in focus, ted oberg

View the original article here

Suspect arrested in brutal sex assault near METRO bus stop

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A suspect accused of targeting a woman at a METRO bus stop and raping her has been arrested.

No one answered the door at Roberto Ramirez's east Harris County apartment. That's because police say the 21-year-old accused rapist was hiding out at a home in Abilene with his girlfriend. Police there arrested him Tuesday afternoon on a Crime Stoppers tip.

Houston investigators used DNA to tie Ramirez to the February 22 rape of a 31-year-old woman near a METRO bus stop. Investigators say Ramirez first started harassing the victim near a bus stop on Wayside and Lawndale. They say he then followed the victim off the bus near the 5600 block of Old Spanish Trail and hit her with a beer bottle before raping her in a nearby field on Produce Row.

"For a pretty young guy, he's pretty dangerous and that's what our concern was from the get go, and to work as fast as we can to get him off the streets," said Pedro Moreno with the Houston Police Department.

Since the beginning of the year, four women have been attacked near METRO bus stops at different locations across Houston. In light of Tuesday's arrest, investigators still don't believe they're connected.

As those investigations continue, METRO is stepping up security in hopes of reassuring nervous passengers including more patrols using uniformed and plain clothes officers.

"In addition to that, we included or incorporated the city's help to help us to take down some of the overrun weeds and other debris that has allowed for some of these types of criminal activity to take place along our transit system," said METRO Police Chief Victor Rodriguez.

According to court documents, the victim's rape kit yielded a DNA profile that matched that of Ramirez in a database from an unsolved 2008 rape case. He's expected to be charged in that case as well.

Ramirez, 21, is charged with aggravated sexual assault of an adult.

He was released from prison in November 2011, out on parole for a robbery conviction. He also has prior convictions for drug possession, theft and criminal trespass. Authorities say Ramirez is a member of the gang '59 PIRU.'

Ramirez is currently being held in the Taylor County Jail. He's expected to be returned to Houston later Tuesday. Bond has been set at $50,000.

Stay with Eyewitness News and abc13.com for the latest on this story.

(Copyright ©2012 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Local »

local, andy cerota

View the original article here

METRO offering free rides New Year's Eve, New Year's Day

  HOUSTON (KTRK) -- METRO is helping Houstonians ring in the New Year safely.

The agency is offering free rides on its regularly scheduled bus and rail service between the hours of 6pm New Year's Eve and 6am New Year's Day.

METRO's bus routes and METRORail will operate a Sunday schedule and it will not be offering its Park & Ride service. The agency's Customer Care Center and RideStore and Lost & Found facilities also will be closed.

Patrons planning on riding the rail on New Year's Day will continue to enjoy free rides for the remainder of the day because of the agency's partnership with Reliant.

On Monday, Jan. 2, local bus routes and METRORail will operate a Sunday schedule and there will be no Park & Ride service. The agency's RideStore and Lost & Found will be closed, but its Customer Care Center will be open 8am-8pm.

(Copyright ©2011 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)
Get more Local »

local
// perform JavaScript after the document is scriptable.OTV.common.modules.promoCarousel.promoCarouselInit("/ktrk/xml?id=5758258&ptnr=promoCarousel");

View the original article here

Man arrested for DWI after METRO bus crash

  HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A man who crashed into a METRO bus Saturday night ended up in jail for allegedly driving drunk, officials said.

The accident happened on Scott St. at Dennis St. around 11:00pm Saturday.

Police said a METRO bus with about seven or eight passengers was traveling south on Scott when a car ran a stop sign going east on Dennis.

The car smashed into the front side of the bus.

No one on the bus was injured. The driver of the car was checked by paramedics, then taken to jail for driving while intoxicated, officials said.

(Copyright ©2011 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more Local »

local

View the original article here

METRO ups security after Park & Ride break-ins

  HOUSTON (KTRK) -- In order to prevent more burglaries, METRO police are making an extra effort to help driver protect their property.

On Tuesday, nearly a dozen vehicles were burglarized at the Grand Parkway Park & Ride in west Harris County. On Friday, METRO police went car to car, checking to see if drivers left valuables in plain sight. They gave each driver a grade and left crime prevention information on their windshields. (Copyright ©2011 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) 

View the original article here

Burglars target cars at METRO Park & Ride

  HOUSTON (KTRK) -- Detectives are investigating a rash of break-ins at a west Harris County METRO Park & Ride location.

METRO Police Department officials say 11 vehicles were broken into late Tuesday afternoon at the Grand Parkway Park & Ride off Interstate 10 and Grand Parkway. That location has no cameras. METRO Police Department is working with the Harris County Sheriff's Office on this case. (Copyright ©2011 KTRK-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.)

View the original article here