Dog owner dies trying to get stubborn pet off tracks as train came, SC officials say

A South Carolina man died in an improbable train mishap this week, when he tried rescuing a dog that was stubbornly refusing to give way to an oncoming freight train.

The dog was killed, too, according to Cherokee County Coroner Dennis Fowler.

It happened around 11:45 a.m. Tuesday near the 300 block of River Drive in Gaffney, Fowler said in a news release. Gaffney is about 55 miles southwest of Charlotte, North Carolina.

Andy Junior Coyle, 43, saw his dog sitting on the tracks as a lengthy train neared the spot, Fowler said.

“Coyle was struck ... while attempting to save his dog from the northbound Norfolk-Southern freight train,” he said.

“Train video shows the dog sitting in the middle of the main 2 track directly behind 319 River Drive. Coyle was trying to move the dog when both were struck. He and the dog died instantly.”

The train had three engines and 34 cars and was going from Atlanta to Rutherford, Pennsylvania, officials said.

Coyle lived on Walnut Street, about 2 miles southwest of the tracks.

“An autopsy will be performed Thursday as part of the coroner’s investigation into the fatal accident,” Fowler said.

This story was originally published August 25, 2021 at 7:28 AM with the headline "Dog owner dies trying to get stubborn pet off tracks as train came, SC officials say."