Three men are facing trespassing charges after one of them had to jump into a Clifton ravine just north of Manassas to avoid an oncoming Virginia Railway Express train.
The men—ages 19, 20 and 31—are facing misdemeanor trespassing and trespassing on a railroad track charges, according to Robin C. Chapman, spokesman for the Norfolk Southern Corporation.
Their names have not been released.
The Fairfax County Police Department reports that the men were hiking through the woods in the Hemlock Regional Park in Clifton on the afternoon of April 4 when they came across a railroad bridge. As they crossed the bridge, they encountered the oncoming train.
Two of the men made it across, but police say a third jumped to avoid being struck by a train. He apparently injured his back and was taken to a nearby hospital by an FCPD helicopter where he was treated for his injuries.
VRE train, #337 on the Manassas line had departed from Union Station in D.C. at 7:50 p.m.. The accident reportedly delayed the train for more than an hour.
