The body of a young man was discovered at the Norfolk Southern train tracks of 23rd Street and Granby Street. The victim was Stacy Pryear of Newport News, Virginia (VA). He was only 26 years old.
Police are investigating his death and have not officially stated that Pryear was hit and killed by a train. However, police have stated that his injuries appear consistent with being hit by a train. A train with 140 cars was moving about 25 mph as it hauled coal to the terminal at Lambert’s Point where Pryear’s body was found. However, the crew of the train did not see anything unusual.
Our deepest sympathies go out to the Pyrear family. Losing a loved one is always heartbreaking, but the pain is even worse when the victim is young and had their whole lives ahead of them. “He was a funny, outgoing person,” Pyrear’s sister told the Virginian-Pilot. If it turns out Pyrear lost his life due to the negligence of a train’s operator or a malfunction of signals along the tracks, his family should consult with a wrongful death attorney in Virginia.
In many wrongful death cases involving trains, the railroad will try to shift the blame to the victim. However, there are numerous instances where the train company failed follow regulations, or the train was not operated properly. I have represented the Eastern Shore family of a man who died in the last year in a similar way. The train crew usually cannot do much to avoid these cases of people hit. Rather it is up to the companies who know that areas of track are used by the community to take special precautions to limit access or provide sufficient warnings to people who live or walk near the rail lines of the dangers.
PA