Pedestrian hit and killed by train in South Carolina, Richland County deputies say

A pedestrian was hit by a train and killed Sunday, according to the Richland County Sheriff’s Department.

The incident happened in Irmo, the sheriff’s department told The State.

At about noon, the CSX train company told deputies that it believed that a train had hit something on the tracks, the sheriff’s department said.

Responding deputies discovered a pedestrian was fatally hit on tracks near Dutch Fork Road, according to the sheriff’s department.

Cpl. David Jones, of the South Carolina Highway Patrol said the collision happened on private property near 1220 Dutch Fork Road.

In addition to the deputies, members of the Irmo Police Department said its officers also responded to the scene. The train did not derail in the collision, according to the sheriff’s department.

The train stopped, and was blocking the railroad crossings at North Royal Tower Drive and Thames Valley Road, police said. That’s near Exits 101 and 102 on Interstate 26.

There was no word on when the tracks would be cleared and traffic in the area would return to normal.

Neither police nor CSX immediately responded to questions about the incident that both the sheriff’s department and the Highway Patrol said remains under investigation.

The Richland County Coroner’s Office confirmed it has responded to the scene, but has not publicly identified the victim.

This is at least the second time this week in South Carolina that a train was involved in a fatal crash.

On Wednesday in Florence, a man was killed when he was hit by an Amtrak train, according to the Florence Police Department. Officers found the victim near where the train stopped, and he had died at the scene, police said.

This is a developing story, check back for updates.