photo by Courtesy of Jemison Police Department

Jemison police, fire and rescue responded to the County Road 25 CSX crossing where they found a Shelby man that had been hit by a train.

Railroad victim identified

Officials suspect suicide in train track incident

By Brent Maze (Contact) | Clanton Advertiser

Published Tuesday, July 29, 2008

JEMISON – Authorities have identified the victim who was hit and killed by a CSX train early Sunday morning.

The victim was Shannon Dale Pearson, 31, of Shelby. He died of blunt force trauma, said Chilton County Coroner Randy Yeargan.

All indications are leading authorities to believe the incident was suicide.

Jemison Police Assistant Chief Shane Fulmer said the victim was apparently sitting on one rail of the tracks about 7:45 a.m. when the 51-car train collided with Pearson around 700 to 800 feet north of the County Road 25 crossing. All but two cars of the train were fully loaded.

The northbound train then stopped about 2,500 feet from the place of the incident.

“The victim has friends and other kin in the Jemison area,” Fulmer said. “We don’t know why the victim was on the tracks. His family and friends do not live close to this area.”

Yeargan said there were no visible signs of whether the victim was intoxicated from drugs or alcohol. No autopsy will be performed on the victim.

CSX immediately contacted Chilton County 911 after the incident, and Jemison Fire and Rescue were dispatched to the scene. Officials found the victim dead on arrival.

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