THOMASVILLE, N.C. (WGHP) — A 17-year-old was hit and killed by a train early Tuesday morning, according to police.
Police posted on Facebook that they were on the scene of a pedestrian hit and killed by a train just before 8 a.m. Police say that it happened near the intersection of Turner Street and Main Street.
Hunter Gardner, 17, of Thomasville, was pronounced dead at the scene, according to the Thomasville Police Department .
Witnesses at the scene told investigators a vehicle Gardner was in broke down on Main Street which is parallel to the railroad tracks. Gardner walked to the tracks to watch a freight train that was going south.
Gardner was standing in the northbound tracks when an Amtrak train going north hit him from behind.
According to statements, it is believed Gardner did not hear or see the Amtrak train before the accident.
Amtrak Carolinian/Piedmont Train 80 left Charlotte at 6:45 a.m. and was going to New York with 80 passengers.
Amtrak posted an alert on X just before noon that “due to ongoing delays with a trespasser coming in contact with an Amtrak Train, Piedmont Train 71 has terminated in Greensboro (GRO). All customers will be accommodated onto Train 73.”