Two Struck, Killed By Train In King of Prussia
By Matt Rivers, Justin Udo
KING OF PRUSSIA, Pa. (CBS) - Two men are dead after being hit by a freight train Saturday morning in King of Prussia, Montgomery County.
Upper Merion Township Police say the incident happened around 7:30 a.m. near the abandoned Valley Forge National Historical Park train station.
According to police, two men were walking in the middle of the tracks next to each other when a Westbound train hit them from behind. It is not known at this time how fast it was going.
The 4,500-ton Norfolk Southern freight train was traveling from Bucks County to Chicago with three locomotives and 36 cars.
Onlookers after the incident Saturday wondered if a sharp curve near where the accident happened played a role:
"If you're on the wrong side of the tracks you can't hear it because the sound is kind of muffled by the two bridges in the background," explains Brian Sakal, "and you have a blindsopot where you can't see the trains coming anyway until its right on top of you."
No other passengers were on board at the time of the incident except for two crew members. Neither of them were reported injured.
No information on the victims is being released pending notification to the next of kin by Upper Merion Township Police Detectives.
The tracks were closed earlier in the day Saturday, but have since reopened.
Police continue to investigate the incident, including why the victims were on the track in the first place.