UPDATE: Highway Patrol: Car parked too close to railroad tracks in Davidson County, hit by train and knocked into Yadkin River
A car parked too close to the train tracks in Davidson County was hit by a Norfolk Southern train Friday night and thrown into the Yadkin River near the Wilcox Bridge, said N.C. Highway Patrol Sgt. J. Anderson.
Water rescue divers spent hours Friday night in the frigid water trying to locate the car, but could not find it. The search was called off due to the impending winter weather and will not resume until at least Tuesday, Anderson said. The accident occurred around 9:10 p.m.
On Tuesday, Alton Hanes with the Davidson County Emergency Management Office said a dive team was not able to resume the search on Tuesday and he is working to get a team together to resume the search on Wednesday.
"We have some things making this difficult," Hanes said Tuesday afternoon. "One is Covid. Sie departments do not have the staff for coverage and to come here for a dive. There is also the weather coming in and we're worried about the current in the river from rains in the mountains coming down to here. There's debris in the water and with the current, you don't want someone getting stuck underwater on debris."
It is not known if anyone was inside the car when it was hit by the train. In addition, the make and model of the car that was hit is not known.
"A car was parked beside the railroad tracks near (Highway) 29/70 on private property owned by the railroad," said Anderson. "The conductor saw the car and blew his horn. He attempted to reduce speed and could not. The train struck the vehicle and sent it into the water."
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This article originally appeared on The Dispatch: Car knocked into Yadkin River after being hit by train in Davidson County
