One dead, two injured after being hit by train in Van Buren

VAN BUREN, Ark. (KNWA/KFTA) — One person was killed and two others were injured after they were struck by a train on Saturday night in Van Buren, according to the Van Buren Police Department.

VBPD said they received a call around 11:10 p.m. about two women being hit by a train near Lee Creek Park.

Once they arrived on the scene, the women said a man was hit by the train on a bridge and thrown into the water below.

The department said the man and the two women were hanging out on the train tracks and decided to take pictures on the bridge when a train traveled across the bridge and hit them.

Van Buren first responders along with the Crawford County Sheriff’s Office and the Fort Smith Fire Department Dive Team helped locate the man’s body in the water.

The man was identified as a 59-year-old from Rudy. VBPD said they are not releasing his name at this time.

The two women’s injuries were considered non-life-threatening, according to the department.

VBPD said the man’s body will be taken to the Arkansas State Crime Lab in Little Rock to determine the cause of death and that this is standard procedure for any death investigation.

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