Authorities released the names of two people killed by a train in St. Albans earlier this month.
A train conductor last saw Jamie Hubbard, of St. Albans, and John Ayscue, of Henderson, North Carolina, as they walked on a trestle in the early hours of April 4, said Sgt. Brian Humphries, a spokesman for the Kanawha County Sheriff's Office.
The conductor alerted another train, which tried to slow down as it approached Hubbard, 31, and Ayscue, 33. Dispatchers received a call at about 5:40 a.m. that a collision killed the pair.
The train was transporting empty coal cars from Covington, Virginia, to Corbin, Kentucky, said Laura Phelps, media relations manager for CSX Transportation.
"Tragic events like this underscore the importance of staying away from railroad tracks at all times," she wrote in an email. "The only safe place for pedestrians to cross railroad tracks is at a marked crossing."
It takes approximately a mile for freight trains to stop, John Perry, the state coordinator for West Virginia Operation Lifesaver, said in a previous email interview.
"We also should not forget the psychological effect something like this has on the train crew," he said. "Once they apply the brakes the only thing they can do is watch."
Reach Giuseppe Sabella at giuseppe.sabella@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-5189 or follow @Gsabella on Twitter.