A Gainesville man survived being hit by a freight train Sunday afternoon on the city’s southside, a spokeswoman for the Hall County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) said Monday.
“Deputies responded around 2 p.m. to Dorsey Street near Industrial Boulevard, where Hall County EMS was already treating the pedestrian, identified as Kenya Jovan Smith, 43,” B.J. Williams said. Williams added that Smith was alert and conscious and was taken to Northeast Georgia Medical Center Gainesville. “His injuries were not believed to be life‑threatening.”
Williams said the initial investigation showed the train was traveling northbound and Smith was walking ahead of it in the same direction. The conductor sounded the horn and slowed the train as he approached Smith.
“Deputies said Smith moved from the center of the tracks toward the side, but the outer edge of the engine clipped him, causing him to roll down an embankment.”
It’s not the first time a pedestrian has been hit by a train in that area but Smith is the first in recent memory to survive.