ROANOKE, Va. — A man who was hit by a train in Botetourt County, Va., Tuesday night “left the scene walking,” authorities told the Roanoke Times.
Botetourt County police said they received a call from a Norfolk Southern train conductor at 9:41 p.m.
Troutville Fire Department Asst. Chief Greg Sleboda said he and railway police searched a three-mile stretch of tracks near the Nace Road crossing for about an hour looking for a victim.
The train was traveling south, and the conductor spotted a man walking on the tracks toward the oncoming train, Sleboda said. The man had his head down and never looked up when the engineer blew his whistle, Sleboda said.
After driving the tracks in search of the victim, police found a man “talking and walking” north on the tracks near Nace Road, Sleboda said. The man was disoriented and did not know who he was, where he was or what he was doing there, Sleboda said.
“You don’t see any outward injury,” Sleboda said, but the man was sore in his midsection so he was taken to Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital as a trauma alert patient.
The man could not be identified Tuesday. He had no identification on him. Sleboda said he was in his 30s.
The length of track where the accident happened was on an uphill grade, so the train was likely traveling slowly, Sleboda said. The train stopped almost immediately.
Norfolk Southern Police declined to comment Tuesday, and the victim’s condition was not available.