ALTO – A Cornelia man was killed Friday night when he was struck by an eastbound freight train in front of Mount Vernon Mills in Alto.
The man was walking eastbound toward Alto on the railroad ties about one foot to the north side of the metal tracks, said Trooper 1st Class Aaron Walden of Georgia State Patrol Post 7 in Toccoa.
“The locomotive, unable to stop, struck the pedestrian with its front left,” Walden said. “The pedestrian then traveled about 200 feet east, where the body came to rest face down facing east.”
The area of impact was on the railroad tracks about 1,000 feet east of Mount Vernon Mill Road.
The front of the train came to rest on the tracks just north of the downtown crossing near the Alto Post Office, with the back of the train coming to rest just north of the Mount Vernon Mills overpass.
“It is believed that the pedestrian was on his cell phone at the time of the incident,” Walden said.
The name of the victim is being withheld pending notification of family members.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2017/4/522679/train-strikes-kills-man-walking-near-tracks-in-alto