VALDOSTA, GA — A 49-year-old woman was killed Friday night after she was struck by a train in Valdosta, according to police. Officers were called to the railroad tracks in the 2400 block of Gornto Road at 10:20 p.m. after a Norfolk Southern employee dialed 911 to report that a conductor had hit a person.
When officers arrived, they found a deceased person near the tracks. Valdosta police said evidence gathered at the scene identified the victim as a 49-year-old woman. The case was then turned over to the Georgia State Patrol and Norfolk Southern investigators.
Police were called after Norfolk Southern reported the collision
The initial emergency call came from a Norfolk Southern employee, who told dispatchers that the train conductor had struck someone on the tracks. That call sent Valdosta officers to the scene on Gornto Road late Friday evening.
Police have not said how the woman came to be on or near the tracks, and they have not released any additional details about the moments before the collision. At the scene, investigators located the victim near the railroad right of way and confirmed she had died.
The railroad location was in the 2400 block of Gornto Road, a stretch that includes active tracks and nearby roadway access. The circumstances that led to the impact remain under investigation.
Evidence at the scene identified the victim as a 49-year-old woman
Officers said evidence collected on scene allowed them to identify the person who died as a 49-year-old woman. Police did not immediately release her name.
That identification came after officers found the body near the tracks. No other information about the victim was made public, and authorities have not said whether anyone else was involved beyond the train crew and responding investigators.
Because the incident involved a death on railroad tracks, police treated it as a matter requiring outside investigation rather than handling it entirely on their own. The victim’s identity remains limited to her age and sex in the information released by Valdosta police.
Georgia State Patrol and Norfolk Southern took over the investigation
Valdosta police requested that the Georgia State Patrol respond because of the nature of the incident. Norfolk Southern investigators were also notified and began reviewing the circumstances surrounding the collision.
Once the case was handed off, local police said they would not be releasing additional details. That means the next findings are expected to come from the state investigation and the railroad’s own review, rather than from the police department.
No timeline has been provided for when more information may be made public. The agencies involved have not said whether the train was moving, how fast it was traveling, or whether weather or visibility played any role.
Chief Leslie Manahan called the death a tragic event
Valdosta Police Chief Leslie Manahan said the department considered the death a heartbreaking loss. “This is such a tragic event, and we have the family of the victim in our thoughts and prayers,” Manahan said.
The chief’s comments came as police were still leaving the investigation in the hands of the Georgia State Patrol and Norfolk Southern. No other formal statement was included in the police update.
Authorities have not said whether the woman had any connection to the railroad property or why she was in the area. For now, the public information is limited to the time, location, and the fact that the train struck her late Friday night.
Gornto Road crossing remains at the center of unanswered questions
The crash happened in the 2400 block of Gornto Road, where railroad tracks run through part of the city. Police did not say whether the woman was on a crossing, along the tracks, or in another part of the rail corridor when she was struck.
Those unanswered questions are now part of the broader investigation by state and railroad officials. Valdosta police said no further information would be released from their department after the transfer of the case.
For now, the confirmed facts are limited: a train struck a woman late Friday in Valdosta, she died at the scene, and state and railroad investigators are handling what comes next.
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