W.Va. Firefighters Help Man Hit by Train

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Nov. 18--A Maidsville man was in fair condition Thursday after being struck by a Norfolk Southern train in Granville.

Frederick Gibson Jr., 34, was hit somewhere between Dents Run Boulevard and Dunkard Avenue, shortly before 11 p.m. Wednesday. Police said he had a large laceration to the right side of his head and a large knot on his forehead, but suffered no other obvious injuries.

Gibson was taken to Ruby Memorial Hospital, where a nurse told police his injuries did not appear to be life-threatening.

Granville Police Chief Craig Corkrean wasn't sure what Gibson was doing on the tracks. He may have been intoxicated, Corkrean said, and was on his hands and knees when the train's engineer, Alan Scabis, first spotted him about 100 feet ahead.

"At first, they thought he was an animal because he was on all fours," Norfolk Southern spokesman Robin Chapman said.

It is standard procedure to blow the horn and hit the emergency brake when someone is on the tracks, but Chapman didn't know if Gibson responded to the horn.

The coal train was headed south to Monongalia County's Loveridge mine, carrying 150 empty cars. The track speed in that area is 25 miles per hour, and at that speed, Chapman said it probably took the train at least a half-mile to stop.

The engine stopped near Francis Engineering, on Monongahela Avenue in Westover, though it was later moved further down the tracks to avoid blocking traffic on Dents Run Boulevard and Dunkard Avenue.

The impact of the collision knocked Gibson into a creek near the Dents Run Bridge, where Granville Police Sgt. Brian Hill found him crawling through the underbrush. He identified himself to Hill before being treated by Monongalia EMS for what Chapman called "a severe head injury."

He was later sedated after he became combative in the emergency room, according to a police report.

Volunteer firefighters and police from Westover assisted at the scene of the accident, along with the Granville Fire Department.

Since no crime was committed, Corkrean said any further investigation into the accident will be done by Norfolk Southern Police.

Chapman said Scabis reported the incident, as required, and the crew was likely offered counseling to deal with the traumatic event, if necessary.

The last accident in the area involving a train and a pedestrian was in December 2008, according to The Dominion Post's archives. A Marion County man was killed after he was hit by a train in the Pleasant Valley area.

A Marion County woman survived after being grazed by a CSX train in June 2007. She was sitting on railroad ties at the edge of the tracks near Bentons Ferry when the accident occurred.