HOUSTON – A woman was hit and killed by a METRORail train Friday morning near Hermann Park in Houston.
The crash was reported at 8:20 a.m. near the intersection of Fannin and Cambridge streets.
METRO, Houston's transportation authority, said Marjorie Corcoran, 66, was riding a bicycle and crossed the road when the METRO was approaching.
According to police, Corcoran was crossing without a green light. Police said it did not appear she was wearing headphones.
"We don't know why she proceeded to cross maybe misjudging the speed of the train because the train had slowed down as it approached the platform," Metro Police Chief Vera Bumpers said.
The crosswalk is across the street from Rice University and police said Corcoran was wearing a backpack.
Raw video: Sky 2 at scene of METRORail crash
Metro is now moving again after a female bicyclist was struck and killed by train. Police say she was crossing without green light. @KPRC2 pic.twitter.com/aEHSKLCaq9
— Janelle Bludau (@JanelleKHOU) February 3, 2017
METRORail reported that the southbound Red Line was delayed at Hermann Park and Rice University because of the crash. It reopened about two hours later.
Rice University released a statement that read in part:
"We write to share the very sad news that a beloved member of our faculty, Marjorie Corcoran, was killed today when a light-rail train struck her while she was bicycling across the tracks on Fannin Street. Marjorie was a much-admired longtime professor of physics and astronomy, who worked tirelessly on behalf of her students, Rice, and STEM education. She served as the first speaker of Rice’s Faculty Senate when it was formed in 2005."
"Our hearts go out to Marjorie’s husband and their three children, one of whom received his degree at Rice, and to the students and faculty members who studied and worked with her. We have lost a truly gifted and dear member of the Rice community."