Woman fatally hit by train while crossing railroad trestle in Hillsborough, officials say
A woman died after being hit by an Amtrak train Tuesday while walking over a railroad trestle in Hillsborough, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office said.
The woman, who was in her thirties, was struck just before 1 p.m. by the Amtrak Piedmont 72, which was crossing over Dimmock’s Mill Road, officials said in a news release. Deputies responded after Norfolk Southern Railway reported the accident.
Orange Rural Fire Department, Hillsborough police and Orange County EMS crews were also dispatched to the scene, according to the fire department’s Facebook post. First responders “walked the railroad tracks from West Hill Avenue westward until they located the train and the victim,” the post said.
The location of the accident required the responding agencies to work together and remove the victim to a nearby driveway where she could be loaded onto an ambulance, it said.
The train had left Charlotte at 10:25 a.m. Tuesday and was headed eastbound to Raleigh at the time of the collision, officials said. None of the train’s crew or the 163 passengers on board the train were injured, an Amtrak spokeswoman said in an email.
The accident delayed the Piedmont 72 route by about 90 minutes, the spokeswoman said. Another route, Piedmont 75, was delayed by about 40 minutes.
Amtrak officials are working with local law enforcement to investigate the incident, she said. The N.C. Highway Patrol is also investigating, according to fire officials.
Sheriff’s Office officials have not publicly identified the woman, pending notification of her next of kin. No additional information was immediately available, officials said.
The story will be updated.
This story was originally published October 17, 2023 at 4:20 PM.
