La Marque police officer J.L. Campbell estimated the man could have been traveling in excess of 100 mph on the Interstate 45 south feeder road. He was unable to stop in time to negotiate a horseshoe turn to the left as the feeder road U-turns at a railroad track about a mile north of state Highway 6.

“He had to have been going at least 90 to 100 mph,” Campbell said as he looked at the mangled wreck and the scorched earth around the object that barely resembled a car.

Police and firefighters arrived shortly after the 12:47 p.m. call, finding the 2007 model, four-door Mercedes engulfed in flames on the south side of the tracks about 30 yards past the slightly damaged tanker car.

State trooper Scott Hamilton said the parked train contained 98 cars, and the damaged tanker car was empty and not ruptured. The car missed the tanker’s underside valve, and the train remained on the tracks, which were also damaged in the collision.

The Houston man, whose name police didn’t reveal pending notification of family, was the sole occupant of the car.

Sgt. Jeff Winstead of La Marque police said the Galveston County Sheriff’s Office received a report of a black Mercedes speeding on the south feeder road a few minutes before the crash.

Police found tread marks on the south feeder road just north of the tracks, which could have been from the man’s attempt to slow down before impact.

“He went completely underneath the tanker car and burst into flames,” Winstead said.

The car left a trail of debris on the tracks, crossed another feeder road south of the tracks and came to rest in a median. Firefighters extinguished the blaze, and authorities called the Galveston County Medical Examiner’s Office to the scene.

Police didn’t speculate on why the man crashed into the tanker car, which was visible from at least 100 yards away.

The empty tanker car is possibly owned by BNSF Railway, but a company spokesman reached Sunday afternoon was unable to immediately confirm ownership.

La Marque firefighters initially called for a hazardous materials fire crew from Texas City, but canceled them en route after learning the tanker was empty and that the crash didn’t rupture the tanker.

Hamilton said the railway, which travels underneath I-45, was used as a depot for empty tanker cars. The railway is near Texas City chemical plants.

It wasn’t known Sunday whether the damaged railroad tracks would affect transportation of goods.