An Effingham man fatally struck by a train at the W. Jefferson Street rail crossing on Wednesday has been identified as Travis D. Ingram, 34, according to to Effingham County Coroner Kim Rhodes.
Rhodes said that on Wednesday at 4:44 p.m., the Effingham City Police Department responded to a call involving a bicyclist who was struck by a train at the crossing in downtown Effingham.
“Upon arrival, officers discovered an unresponsive male lying near the tracks,” Rhodes sid in a press release. “Rural Med EMS transported the individual to HSHS St. Anthony Hospital emergency room where he was pronounced deceased at 5:17 pm. The Effingham County Coroner’s Office was called and responded to the scene and the emergency room.”
Preliminary information gathered at the scene indicated the Canadian National Freight train was northbound when a bicyclist heading west crossed the tracks in front of the train, Rhodes said.
“The male was wearing headphones, which may have impaired his ability to hear the train,” Rhodes said in the release. “The bicycle was found on the east side of the railroad tracks and the headphones on the west side. The crossing has lights and gates but is considered a ‘quiet zone,’ where no train horn is sounded.”
The conductor and engineer of the Canadian National Railroad were not injured in the collision.
The investigation is continuing by the Effingham City Police Department, Effingham County Coroner’s Office and the Canadian National Railroad.
“A gentleman riding his bike through the public parking lot, coming from Dust & Son toward the Beanstalk Boutique, turned his bike left to cross the railroad,” said Jon Schafer, owner of the adjacent Baseball Connection.
“The railroad crossing on the car side was down, and the bells and lights were up, but he pulled right in front of the train as he was crossing the train tracks. He was heading west toward Kirby Foods.”
Schafer said the bicyclist was on the pedestrian walkway on the south side of Jefferson Avenue. The gate crosses the road, but not the walkway.
“We rewound our security tape to see what happened,” said Schafer. “It’s awful. From what I saw, honestly, it looked like he had no clue the train was coming.”
That section of the railway is a “no horn” zone for trains. Signs and lights warn pedestrians and motorists while the gate keeps vehicles on the road from crossing.
“I always worry,” said Schafer. “…You don’t have to go around the gate. He was on the sidewalk and there is no gate on the sidewalk.
“We think at this crossing here, that’s so busy, they should have gates on both sides and they should have pedestrian gates, too. Hundreds and hundreds of people cross here on a daily basis.
“… From what I saw, he almost made it across. The train was moving at a pretty good clip.”