TEXARKANA -- A freight train lost half of its cars Saturday when a man unhooked them in Little River County after hopping the train in Texarkana, authorities said.
Robert Foster, 31, of Texarkana, Texas, rode the Kansas City Southern freight train 40 miles north to Winthrop, according to initial reports from the Little River County sheriff's office.
North of Alleene, Foster reportedly forced several connectors loose from the car, causing the train to separate in half and locking up the brakes, authorities said. The disconnected section stopped about a mile north of Alleene while the section containing the locomotives and Foster continued north 6 miles to near Winthrop, where a member of the railroad crew spotted someone jumping off the train, reports said.
Little River County Sheriff Deputy Jarrod Simmons arrested Foster near the Kansas City Southern Railroad crossing in Winthrop shortly after receiving the report.
Authorities said the train was traveling about 45 mph when the cars were disconnected. Initial estimates on the cost of the incident to Kansas City Southern Railway Co. were "well above" $5,000, officials said. It was unknown if any freight was damaged.
Foster is charged with criminal trespass and criminal mischief in the first degree.
State Desk on 03/10/2017