One dead and two injured after collision with train in Van Buren

VAN BUREN, Arkansas (KNWA/KFTA) – One person was killed and two others injured when they were struck by a train in Van Buren Saturday night, according to Van Buren police.

The VBPD said they received a call around 11:10 p.m. that two women had been hit by a train near Lee Creek Park.

When they arrived at the scene, the women said a man on a bridge had been hit by the train and thrown into the water below.

The authority said the man and the two women were on the tracks and decided to take photos on the bridge when a train drove over the bridge and hit them.

Van Buren first responders, along with the Crawford County Sheriff’s Office and the Fort Smith Fire Department dive team, helped locate the man’s body in the water.

The man was identified as a 59-year-old from Rudy. The VBPD said his name will not be released at this time.

According to the department, the injuries to the two women were not considered life-threatening.

The VBPD said the man’s body would be taken to the Arkansas State Crime Lab in Little Rock to determine the cause of death and that this is standard procedure in any death investigation.