The Houston ISD student who was struck and killed by a train near Milby High School crossed the train tracks outside of the designated crossing spot, a district spokesperson said Tuesday.

A Union Pacific train crossing Broadway Boulevard struck and killed the 15-year-old Monday morning near campus, according to the Houston Police Department. The family's GoFundMe and multiple witnesses identified the victim as Sergio Rodriguez, a Milby sophomore who played on the football team.

Milby students told the Chronicle this week that trains regularly cross during school arrival and departure times, frequently blocking the road for multiple minutes. Some students said the school enforces a strict attendance policy that may incentivize other students to make riskier choices to get to class on time.

However, Alex Elizondo, HISD's chief of public affairs and communications, said the district's policy is to waive all tardies if a student or teacher is late due to a train running during school time. She said Milby students are told that if a train is in their way, they should wait patiently and their tardiness will not be counted against them.

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Elizondo said Milby Principal Ruth Pena also pays police officers overtime to monitor the crossing path before arrival and after dismissal to keep students safe. She said Pena knows that students cannot control when a train is running, and she wants them to stay safe and wait until it's an appropriate time to cross.

"The principal knows that this train track is a problem for kids getting to school on time, so if a train is running during school time, all tardies are waived and do not count against students or teachers if a train prevents them from getting to school on time," Elizondo said.

Elizondo said students are encouraged to be at school every day and to be on time, but they should not do anything that jeopardizes their personal safety to get there. She said the district's policy is "student safety first and foremost," and it would never want a student to cross a train track outside of a designated crossing area.

"The student in the incident yesterday did not cross at where the road crosses the tracks," Elizondo said. "He crossed farther down in a grassy area that would not be an area HISD would monitor. HISD obviously cannot monitor the full length of the train track, and so the student did not cross at the designated crossing spot."

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Elizondo said after the incident, Union Pacific told HISD that the train was not going to move during the day due to the investigation, and it was "completely safe for kids to cross." She said after that point, HISD staff directed students to cross the cleared train tracks so they could get away from the scene and get counseling and support.

Elizondo declined to speak to any of the district's specific previous conversations with Union Pacific, but said no single entity is in charge of influencing their train schedules. She said the district wants to work in partnership with state and federal agencies to make sure that train traffic and schedule are thoughtful and provide the least possible risk to students.

"There are dozens of HISD schools that have railroad tracks that are close to them," Elizondo said. "We are a city that has railroad tracks running through our city. So as we have been, we will continue to work in partnership with lots of levels of government to try to correct this persistent problem."

Mayor John Whitmire said in a statement Tuesday that he had asked the City of Houston Planning Department and Houston Public Works to assess the feasibility and costs of constructing a pedestrian bridge to ensure the safety of people who need to cross the railroad tracks on Broadway Boulevard.

"This preventable tragedy should never have occurred," he said. "I urge students to exercise caution and never attempt to outrun any train, even if it appears to be moving slowly. I assure you that I am committed to working with local, state, and federal leaders and the railroad to make this skywalk a reality."

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HISD currently provides bus transportation to students who live 2 or more miles from their zoned campuses, or up to 3 miles away for magnet students. However, Elizondo said the district will take any child to and from school upon request if they or their family feel that their route to campus is unsafe.

"Even if it's within the 2-mile radius where we don't provide buses as part of a routine, any family can say, 'My child doesn't have a safe walking route to school. Please pick my child up,' and HISD will accommodate that," Elizondo said.

Elizondo declined to identify the student who was killed, but she said the district is offering counseling to the student's family and assistance to cover funeral costs. The district is also providing counseling and crisis management support on campus for Milby students, she said.

"There were a couple of students that witnessed the tragedy, and so they are being provided additional counseling and crisis supports for as long as they need crisis support from HISD," Elizondo said. "HISD's counseling team is on campus today. We will keep them on campus as long as the principal believes that their supports are still needed."

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The press conference occurred a few hours after hundreds of people signed a Change.org petition calling for Pena's removal due to an "inability to manage the school in a way that promotes the safety, respect, and emotional health of its students," including resuming school Tuesday.

"We, the students, alumni, and concerned members of the Milby High School community, demand that Principal Ruth Pena be removed from her position," the petition said. "Her actions, or lack thereof, demonstrate that she is not fit to lead our school, and we deserve a leader who values empathy, demonstrates competence, and prioritizes the well-being of every student."

The petition writer called for HISD's Board of Managers to review Pena's conduct and "take immediate action" to replace her with leadership who can "guide us through challenging times with the care, compassion, and professionalism we deserve."

Elizondo said Pena goes above and beyond by paying police officers overtime to come to school early and stay late to monitor the crossing path, and she pushed back on the notion that the principal did not "live up to her responsibility" for not getting the train schedules to change.

"Our heart goes out to the families. The community is mourning, and I understand people taking all sorts of actions in periods of mourning. HISD is going to support our students, going to support our families, and going to support this child's family," Elizondo said. "Every child arrived to school safe after the incident, and the principal did what she needed to do, as did her staff."

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