Three people in Middle Georgia were killed this week after a train struck a vehicle that was stuck on the tracks.
Reports describe a harrowing rescue attempt Wednesday night before the locomotive barreled into the SUV at a private crossing near Goodwyne and Collier roads in Monroe County, according to 13 WMAZ.
Local news outlets report 47-year-old Chris Burkett was trying to help 93-year-old Shirley Treadwell and 66-year-old Debra Ruth Hall out of a Ford Flex that came to a stop on a private crossing over the Norfolk Southern Railway near Forsyth.
All three died when the train hit the SUV about 6:30 p.m., deputies said.
Norfolk Southern said it had no additional information beyond what the sheriff’s office released.
Officials have not yet said what caused the SUV to become stuck.
Commissioner Eddie Rowland said the Monroe County community was in mourning.
“This reminds us that there is no promise of tomorrow,” he said, according to WMAZ.
Hall was Treadwell’s caregiver, the station reported. It was unclear whether Burkett was in the car with the two women or if he simply happened upon the scene as the train was approaching.
Rowland described Burkett as a hero for his efforts to save them, WMAZ reported.
“I knew Chris from a tornado that happened a few years back. He was actually involved in that, in that particular area,” Rowland said, according to the station.
ArLuther Lee of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution contributed to this report.
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