THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, July 14, 1994 TAG: 9407140611
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: MANASSAS LENGTH: Medium: 51 lines
A Norfolk Southern freight train struck and killed four young men sitting on the tracks near a commuter rail station early Wednesday morning, police said.
Norfolk Southern spokesman Bob Auman said the 144-car freight train, bound from Alexandria to Lynchburg, struck the four male victims about one-quarter of a mile east of the Virginia Railway Express station about 4:35 a.m.
The bodies of the victims were mutilated, said Prince William County Police spokeswoman Kim Chinn. Several days may be needed for identification, she said.
Chinn said Wednesday night that authorities were reasonably certain they had determined who the four were.
``We are getting information from the families,'' she said.
Two of the victims are thought to have been 18, a third 20 and a fourth 21, Chinn said. All were from Fairfax County. It may be several days before they are positively identified, she said.
A car found at the scene prompted police to begin interviewing people thought to have been relatives of the victims, Chinn said.
Auman said it's not clear why the victims were sitting on the tracks.
The conductor spotted the four ``at the last minute,'' Chinn said. It took about a mile for the 6,150-ton train to stop, Auman said.
Chinn said the morning was foggy, but that should not have played a role. Several beer cans were found at the site, Auman said.
The train was traveling 45 mph when the four were hit, said John Fitzpatrick, a spokesman for the Federal Railroad Administration. The speed limit on tracks in that area is 50 mph, he said.
The wreck briefly disrupted commuter rail service and an Amtrak line. VRE's first morning train, scheduled to leave for Washington at 5:30 a.m., was cancelled. ILLUSTRATION: ASSOCIATED PRESS Photo
Prince William County police and Amtrak investigators remove the
body of one of four men killed about 4:35 a.m. Wednesday by a
freight train east of a commuter rail station near Manassas. Several
days may be needed for identification of the bodies.
KEYWORDS: ACCIDENT TRAIN NORFOLK SOUTHERN
by CNB