Law enforcement agencies from Pearl River County and neighboring St. Tammany Parish are currently looking for what they believe will be the remains of a man who was struck by a passenger train while walking on a train trestle near Nicholson.
Maj. Joe Quave with the Pearl River County Sheriff’s Department said a call came into the department Monday at 8:38 a.m. reporting that two people were struck by an Amtrak train while they were on foot on the train trestle close to the state line.
An unnamed female was seriously injured in the incident and later transported to a New Orleans hospital by helicopter, said Pearl River County Coroner Derek Turnage.
Quave said that the search continues for a male who was also on the tracks at the same time. Turnage said evidence at the scene to leads investigators to know “without a doubt” the man is deceased.
A vehicle found near the area combined with information collected from the female has provided the investigators with a possible identity of the man, but Turnage declined to release any identifying information until remains are found.
When asked about the extent of the female’s injuries, Turnage said,”She suffered a lot of trauma.”
A post on the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office states that some of the department’s members are assisting the Pearl River County Sheriff’s Department in the search for the man who was hit by the train and “thrown into the river.”
Quave said a motive concerning why the two people were on the trestle is unknown at press time.