Local

Passenger train to Charlotte delayed after hitting 2 people in 2 cities

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A train on its way to Charlotte was delayed after hitting two people in Durham and in Greensboro, according to authorities.

As a result, dozens of football fans had to wait in Charlotte for hours to get home to Raleigh and other places in between.

Workers at the Amtrak station on North Tryon Street had to scramble at the last minute to find people to drive buses to get passengers home.

"I was expecting to be home at 8:47 (p.m.), then drive from Raleigh to my house in 15 to 20 minutes, be in bed with my loving wife at 9:20 (p.m.) and now here we're stuck still in Charlotte," said passenger Steve Berry.

Berry was among the dozens of people waiting to get from Charlotte to Raleigh. Many of them were coming from the Panthers playoff game against the 49ers at Bank of America Stadium.

"It's a delay that we have to deal with. You just kind of have to roll with the punches," said passenger Jason Kaczor.

Transportation officials said the delay was caused by two fatalities involving the same train -- No. 75.

Investigators said the train hit and killed a man in Greensboro Sunday afternoon.

Hours earlier, they said the same train hit another person walking along the tracks near a trestle in Durham. There were 80 passengers on board at the time.

"It's sadder what happened to these people than anything else and if we have to wait a couple of hours to get on a bus, it's no big deal," said passenger Travis Houston.

Investigators are still looking into what led up to both fatalities.

The train was eventually able to get to Charlotte Sunday night as planned.