RANSOM, W.Va. - A 54-year-old Charles Town man sitting on railroad tracks was struck and killed by a train near here Monday.
James Henry Yates, of 804 Martin Luther King Jr. Ave., was killed by the Norfolk Southern Railroad train after he failed to move off the tracks at about 6 p.m., said Trooper R. T. Shockey of the West Virginia State Police.
The train engineer, Robert Martin, of Shenandoah, Va., said he activated the train whistle and used other warning devices, Shockey said.
After striking Yates, Martin immediately stopped the train.
Yates died at the scene, Shockey said.
Shockey said an alcoholic beverage container was found at the scene, but it was not known whether or not the drink was consumed by Yates.
