STUARTS DRAFT — Virginia State Police have identified three people killed Monday night after a Norfolk Southern train slammed into a passenger van at a private crossing in Augusta County.
The crash took place in the 100 block of Wayne Avenue in Stuarts Draft shortly after 8 p.m.
Sgt. C.J. Aikens of the Virginia State Police said a 2019 Ford Transit van carrying four people was hit by the train at a crossing on private property. The three victims killed were ejected from the van.
Aikens said the group was leaving a farm where solar panels are being installed. “It’s a pretty big solar panel farm,” he said.
Aikens said the speed limit for trains in that area is 50 mph, and he said the Norfolk Southern train involved in the crash was traveling below the speed limit.
There are no gate arms at the crossing, Aikens noted, just stop signs.
The three people killed were identified as Abner Comete, 48, of Boynton Beach, Florida; Jacner Comete, 44, of Lauderhill, Florida; and Wilda Comete, 38, of Lithia Springs, Georgia. Abner Comete appears to have been the driver of the passenger van. The victims are believed to have been cousins, police said.
A fourth passenger, Ronide P. Louis, 28, of Lithia Springs, Georgia, who was in the front seat and wearing a seatbelt, survived. She was taken to Augusta Health in Fishersville before being transferred to UVA Health in Charlottesville with injuries that were not considered life-threatening.
Aikens said the train was pulling about 30 cars.
Last year, according to the United States Department of Transportation, 29 people across the nation were killed at private crossings, including pedestrians, with one of those fatalities occurring in Virginia.
From 2020 to 2023, six people in Virginia died at private crossings, including a 2020 incident in Augusta County. During that same four-year timeframe, 103 people lost their lives at private train crossings in the U.S., the agency said.
Rosalyn Floyd, a spokesperson for the Federal Railroad Administration, warned motorists that trains are faster and quieter than most people realize, and said to use caution when approaching a crossing.
“We say never try to beat a train. If you see a train coming, come to a complete stop,” Floyd said. “A train has the right of way, even for emergency vehicles.”
Floyd said a train traveling 55 mph might seem slow to a motorist, but cautioned that a train traveling at that speed will take some time to stop.
“It takes it up to a mile to come to a complete stop,” she said.
Monday night’s triple fatality remains under investigation.
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Brad Zinn is the cops, courts and breaking news reporter at The News Leader. Have a news tip? Or something that needs investigating? You can email reporter Brad Zinn (he/him) at [email protected]. You can also follow him on X (formerly Twitter).
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Publish date : 2024-08-13 07:17:00
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