Pedestrian struck, killed by freight train in Missouri
NOEL, Mo. — One person is found dead after being struck by a freight train.
It happened just before 9:00 p.m. Tuesday in Noel, Missouri (located near the state lines of Missouri, Arkansas and Oklahoma).
Sergeant Travis Sheppard with the Noel Marshal's Office said a freight train operated by Kansas City Southern, was passing through a residential neighborhood at the 600 block of Johnson Drive (near the intersection of South Kings Highway and Johnson Drive) when train operators saw someone on the tracks, which they believe their train had struck.
Sergeant Sheppard said when he arrived on the scene, a deceased male in his mid-20's was found on the tracks.
No foul play is suspected at this time; however, an investigation is being conducted by the Noel Marshal's Office.
Sergeant Sheppard says it's not always easy to know when a train might be approaching, especially in busy neighborhoods.
"If you're walking on the tracks, maybe you've got your earbuds in, you're not going to hear a train horn and you're not going to feel a vibration, it's just, you can't. You can't be on the tracks. Missouri also has a state statute for trespassing, and our train companies in the state of Missouri, they really push that, they don't want people on their tracks because they don't want something like this to happen," said Sergeant Travis Sheppard with the Noel Marshal's Office.
Authorities are in the process of notifying the victim's next of kin and are not releasing his name at this time.
In the state of Missouri, stepping onto any railroad track is considered a Class "A" misdemeanor, said Sergeant Sheppard.