CLYDE — The community is reeling after the deaths of two teen siblings whose vehicle collided with a Union Pacific train Sunday.
The Texas Department of Public Safety’s preliminary investigation indicates the 2:45 p.m. accident occurred near the intersection of FM Road 18 and County Road 243 on the western edge of the Clyde city limits, a DPS media release said Monday.
A 1994 Ford F150 pickup driven by a 16 year-old boy from Baird was carrying Brileigh Dailey, 19, also of Baird, the DPS said.
DPS policy is not to name juveniles in an accident of this nature, but a GoFundMe account set up for the family names the driver as Brileigh’s brother, Kyler.
The pickup drove out of a private driveway that exits southward to immediately cross the railroad track before reaching the north side of FM Road 18 at the CR 243 intersection, the DPS said.
The rural crossing itself has no warning lights or railroad crossing gate arms installed. The distance from the driveway’s end to the tracks is approximately 70 feet.
The pickup failed to yield to the westbound train which struck it, the DPS said. The vehicle was pushed westward off the north side of the tracks where it caught fire. Both siblings were pronounced dead at the scene by Callahan County Justice of the Peace Paige Savell.
In a brief release from Union Pacific Railroad, spokesperson Robynn Tysver confirmed the accident. The Union Pacific crew was not injured but witnessed the collision and are being offered support.
In the 24 hours since the GoFundMe was posted, over $67,000 of a requested $20,000 has been raised to support the family.
“Their sudden passing has left their family, friends, classmates, and community heartbroken. Brileigh was a 2025 graduate of Clyde High School and Kyler was a Junior,” reads the account which has been set up by Mindy Ary.
The page adds that the siblings were members of Beltway Park Church in Abilene and were involved in athletics. Donated funds will assist in covering funeral and memorial expenses and allow the family “space to grieve without the added burden of financial stress.”
This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Clyde stunned by teens’ deaths in train collision
Reporting by Ronald W. Erdrich, Abilene Reporter-News / Abilene Reporter-News
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