2 killed in train collision
Published 9:00 am Friday, September 8, 2017
Two Fayette County residents died Wednesday night after their car got stuck on a railroad track and was hit by a train.
According to the Clark County Sheriff’s Office, those killed were 41-year-old Zacahry D. Winings and 35-year-old Heather M. Shannon, both of Lexington.
The crash happened on Two Mile Road about three miles from Winchester, near McCullough Lane around 10 p.m.
Perdue said it appears the two may have been lost, because one of their phones had directions to Interstate 64 on it, he said. The driver, believed to be Shannon, may have turned too soon and missed the crossing, instead getting the Toyota Camry stuck parallel the railroad tracks, Perdue said.
“We think they may have been coming from the river,” Perdue said. “She just turned onto the railroad tracks and the car got stuck.”
A witness said there was a man trying to help the woman get out through the driver’s door when the CSX Transportation train sideswiped the car and struck both people.
Perdue said the train conductor shut the train off as soon as he saw the car, but the train could not stop in time.
“He hit the horn but there was no way to get away from it,” Perdue said.
Winings was pronounced dead at the scene, while Shannon was transported to Clark Regional Medical Center, where she died.
The road was closed for about three hours. Perdue said there was no evidence of drugs or alcohol being involved. No one on the train was injured, he said.