ROCKINGHAM — A man and woman were reportedly hit by a CSX train while sitting on the tracks Thursday evening.
According to the Richmond County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded to the area near the railroad tracks on N. Beaunit Avenue around 8:28 p.m. to a call about two pedestrians being hit by a train, Chief Deputy Mark Gulledge said Friday.
When deputies arrived, Gulledge said they found the train stationary about 300 yards east of the road.
Deputies and fire department and EMS crews found 26-year-old Wayne Schoonover and 32-year-old Tasha Marie Brayboy, both of Rockingham, approximately 666 feet from the locomotive, Gulledge said.
Both were transported from the scene and later airlifted to an unnamed trauma center.
“Information was obtained on-scene that Schoonover and Brayboy were reportedly sitting together on the railroad tracks prior to being struck by the CSX Transportation train,” Gulledge said in a statement.
Last June, Rockingham Police reported that 29-year-old Billy Gene Ledwell III was killed on the tracks.
In 2018, 18 people were killed, and 13 others injured, while trespassing on North Carolina railroad tracks, the North Carolina Department of Transportation reported in April.
NCDOT also provided several safety tips:
- Railroad tracks, trestles, yards and rights-of-way are private property;
- Trains cannot stop quickly to avoid people or vehicles on the railroad tracks.
- It is difficult to determine a train’s speed from a distance. Trains typically overhang the track by at least three feet.
- Never assume railroad tracks are abandoned or inactive.
- Due to new technology, approaching trains are much quieter than you’d expect, so don’t assume you’ll hear one coming.
