A freight train struck a flatbed trailer being used as a parade float carrying 26 passengers (12 of them United States Armed Forces veterans who had been wounded in action), killing four and injuring 16.
The parade was en route to a veterans' benefit sponsored by the local charity Show of Support/Hunt for Heroes.
[3] The impact killed two veterans immediately and two more died later at Midland Memorial Hospital; sixteen other passengers were injured.
The truck driver – Dale Hayden, a 24-year US Army veteran – survived, as did the train crew – Simon "Trey" Terrazas and Nathan Scott.
[8] In November 2013, the NTSB issued its report, concluding that the probable cause of this collision was "the failure of the city of Midland and the parade organizer, “Show of Support, Military Hunt, Inc.” (Show of Support), to identify and mitigate the risks associated with routing a parade through a highway – railroad grade crossing."