LU Student Passes Away After Train Track Accident

Early Sunday morning, a man tragically fell to his death from the railroad trestle near Riverside Park, trying to avoid an oncoming train. 

Life saving measures were attempted on the man who fell 90 feet into the river below, but their efforts were unsuccessful. 

According to the LFD report, the man was joined by a woman, taking pictures on top of the trestle before the train arrived. Both the man and woman held on to the side of the trestle to escape the oncoming train.

According to a report on the WSET website, the Lynchburg Fire Dept. Chief said the man was not able to hold on to the side of the trestle, causing him to fall. The woman was rescued by medics on the scene and has since been released from the hospital without severe injuries.

Although the identities have not been released, the Liberty Parents and Living in Lynchburg Facebook pages have said the man was a Liberty University student, reporting a Liberty parking sticker on the car near the trestle scene. 

WFXR reported that “eight of the last 20 cases on the trestle involved Liberty students, two of whom lost their lives.”

According to the News and Advance, since 1969, 13 people have died on the trestle going over the James River from the “Riverside Park on the Lynchburg side to Madison Heights on the Amherst County side.”

The last person to die on the trestle was a 35-year-old Lynchburg man September 2015, according to the News and Advance. 

The Lynchburg Fire Department responded to the report and will continue to work on the open investigation.

Hattie Troutman is the Editor-in-Chief. Follow her on Twitter at @hattrout.