Man killed in train wreck

By Tony Gonzalez

Published: November 10, 2008

A Norfolk Southern freight train smashed into an elderly Stuarts Draft man’s car Monday morning, killing him on a private lane near Lipscomb Road.

Traveling southwest at 42 mph, the train hit the Ford Escort station wagon driven by Gordon Hunter, 84, at about 10:30 a.m., Virginia State Police said. Hunter lived less than 100 yards from the train crossing.

Trooper T.A. Knight said the train’s conductor saw the car moving toward the intersection, called for the emergency brake, but had just two train car lengths to stop. The car was knocked 82 feet from the intersection, which is identified by a stop sign and crossing sign, without lights or gates.

The intersection is located after a bend in the track. Authorities said the car was not stuck on the tracks and was not visible as the train rounded the bend.

No alcohol was involved and speed was appropriate for the area, Knight said.

Hunter’s son was in a nearby building but neither saw nor heard the crash, Knight said. He heard the train brake, recognizing it as abnormal.

Virginia State Police, Norfolk Southern and the State Corporation Commission regulatory agency are investigating.

The crash is the second in Augusta County involving a train this year, according to Federal Railroad Administration statistics. The other, in April, also involved a private lane, upon which a pickup truck was struck. The county has had 14 accidents since 1999, two resulting in fatalities. The FRA reported no accidents in the county in 2006 and 2007.

Of 787 train accidents nationwide this year, 44 percent were caused by “human factors.”

Hunter’s family could not be reached Monday.