Around 2:30am, an Amtrak train was traveling through Selma when it struck a pedestrian sitting on the tracks near the US 70 Business overpass. The victim was thrown from the tracks. He was able to attract the attention of train personnel who had stopped and began searching for him by throwing rocks and making noise.
The victim, 60 year-old Donald William O’Keefe of Selma, told Selma Police he didn’t see the approaching train. Police said O’Keefe appeared very intoxicated. He claimed he was walking and not sitting on the tracks when he was struck.
O’Keefe was rushed by ambulance to Wake Medical Center for multiple serious lacerations including injuries to his back, buttocks, and arm.
CSX Railroad and Amtrak are conducting their own investigation into the incident. No one on board the train was injured.
