Train and auto collision on Guadalupe Street

Traffic was gridlocked throughout San Marcos on Thursday after a train struck an automobile.

A blue Ford Explorer was hit by a Union Pacific train on South Guadalupe Street near Martin Luther King Drive around 3:30 p.m. on Thursday, San Marcos Police said.

Officials said before the incident that traffic was backed up on South Guadalupe because of train stopped on the first set of railroad tracks near the intersection of Cheatham Street. The driver of the Ford Explorer stopped on the second set of tracks on Guadalupe near the intersection of MLK, police said.

As a second train approached, the crossing barriers lowered and blocked the SUV from escaping the train’s impact. The Ford Explorer was hit by the train and pushed several feet over an overhang. Neither person in the SUV was critically injured and both walked away from the accident after EMS checked on them at the scene, SMPD said.

“We’d like to remind everyone that drives in San Marcos that it is never a good idea to stop on train tracks in traffic, even if only for a moment,” SMPD said in a statement. “Wait on one side of the train barriers until the space is cleared on the other side before proceeding with your commute. We are all extremely thankful that no injuries were sustained in this accident.”

Several intersections were closed for about three hours after the collision, including those on Guadalupe St., LBJ Dr., CM Allen Pkwy, and Hopkins St. Union Pacific Railroad and SMPD dislodged the car from the front of the train and roads were reopened to traffic at approximately 6:20 p.m.