Three Killed, One Injured by Norfolk Southern Train in Virginia at Dangerous, Unguarded Crossing
(Stuarts Draft, Virginia – August 12, 2024)
Two passengers were killed and one injured after their passenger van was struck on the driver’s side by a Norfolk Southern freight train. The driver was also killed in the collision. The collision occurred at about 8:08 pm near Wayne Avenue in Stuarts Draft. The force of the collision caused the van to roll over on the tracks, ejecting three people from the van. According to reports, the van was coming from a solar panel work site when the collision occurred.
The deceased have been identified by the Virginia State Police as Abner Comete, 48, of Boynton Beach, Fla., Jacner Comete, 44, of Lauderhill, Fla., and Wilda Comete, 38, of Lithia Springs, Ga. Abner Comete is believed to be the driver of the passenger van. The Virginia State Police also identified one female passenger, Ronide P. Louis of Lithia Springs, Ga., who was in the front seat of the van, survived. Louis was taken to Augusta Health then transferred to UVA Health with serious but non-life-threatening injuries.
Tragically, it appears that the passenger van driver never received proper warning of the oncoming train. The crossing has no active warning devices, such as lights and gates. Norfolk Southern also categorizes the crossing as private. As a result of this categorization, it is unknown whether the train crew sounded the horn in advance of this crossing.
According to Norfolk Southern’s records, there is a daily average of 12 freight trains that go through the crossing where this collision occurred at speeds up to 50 miles per hour. At this time, it is unknown how fast the train involved in this collision was traveling. Despite the relatively high number of trains and high-speed train operations, there are no active warning devices at this crossing.
Norfolk Southern and Operation Lifesaver know that the installation of lights and gates at these unprotected crossings saves lives and prevents tragedies such as this one. It is virtually certain that the addition of lights and gates could have prevented this tragedy. Studies that have been conducted over fifty years ago confirm that lights and gates offer the ability to drastically reduce the number of vehicle/train collisions by as much as 96%.
The Virginia State Police is still investigating the collision.
