By Susan Larson.
Update Sunday 10:30 a.m.
The man who died Saturday after being extricated from beneath a CSX freight train in downtown Fredericksburg has been identified as 30-year-old Jeremy David Day of Fredericksburg.
The second man remains in critical but stable condition at a Richmond hospital, according to Fredericksburg Police spokesperson Sarah Kirkpatrick.
Information being provided about the circumstances of the incident are still vague. Authorities say they are investigating.
Anyone with information about this incident is asked to contact the Fredericksburg police at 540-373-3122.
To make an anonymous tip, send a text to “847-411” and text “FPDtip” followed by your tip. Or, download the free FPD Tip app available for Android and iPhones. To download the app, search “FPD Tip” in the Google Play Store or iTunes App Store.
Update 3:30 p.m.
Fredericksburg Police spokesperson Sarah Kirkpatrick said one of the two men “struck by a train” near VRE Parking Lot G has died. “The police department is attempting to locate the deceased’s next of kin, and will release his name once they have been notified,” Kirkpatrick said.
The second man has been transported to a hospital in Richmond, Virginia, and remains in critical condition.
The investigation is still active and ongoing. Kirkpatrick said no further information is being released at this time.
Update 9:30 a.m.
CSX spokesperson Rob Doolittle said a CSX engineer reported to his dispatcher at about 3:25 a.m. that “he observed an individual on the tracks.” The dispatcher then contacted the Fredericksburg Police Department.
Fredericksburg police and fire personnel were the ones who determined two people were under the tanker car. Doolittle could not confirm whether or not the train hit the people. “Why they were there is under investigation,” he told Fredericksburg.Today.
The CSX freight train with three locomotives and 73 cars was traveling from Cumberland, Maryland, to Waycross, Georgia, Doolittle said. The load included wood pulp, cement, vegetables, and liquid rubber.
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Two people were transported to Mary Washington Hospital with “significant injuries” after being extricated from under a CSX freight train tanker car early Saturday, April 22, 2017.
Fredericksburg Deputy Fire Chief Mike Jones said officials are still trying to determine why the individuals were on the tracks, and how they ended up under the tanker. Jones could not confirm that the two were hit by the train.
The Fredericksburg 9-1-1 communications center began receiving calls at 3:25 a.m. for a report of a pedestrian stuck by a train near the station in downtown Fredericksburg, Jones said. “Upon arrival, fire department personnel found two people underneath a tank car that was part of a CSX southbound train headed to Richmond, Virginia.”
The railcar was located in the train across from the commuter parking lots south of the Fredericksburg train station near Frederick and Charles Streets and Colonial Tavern.
The tracks at this location are elevated some 20 feet above the street grade. Fire Department staff used portable ladders to reach the elevated location and gain access to the victims under the tanker.
“The patients were provided emergency care and packaged for removal by fire department personnel, with assistance from Fredericksburg Rescue Squad members,” Jones said. Both patients were placed in a basket-style stretcher and removed from under the train. The fire department’s aerial tower was used to remove the patients from the elevated tracks to ground level, where they were then transported to Mary Washington Healthcare.
No other information about the extent of the injuries or patients’ condition is available at this time, Jones said.
Units were clear of the scene at about 4:45 a.m.
CSX officials with assistance from the Fredericksburg Police Department are investigating the incident.
All train traffic was shutdown while the rescue in progress.
