London, Aug 29 (IANS) A 29-year-old man who was waiting for a legendary North Carolina ‘ghost train’ was killed when a real train came down the tracks, a media report said Sunday.
Christopher Kaiser of Charlotte was waiting with around a dozen friends on a railway bridge in Statesville, when the three engines and one wagon rounded the bend, Daily Mail reported.
The terrified amateur ghost watchers had to run 150 feet for their lives, Iredell County Sheriff’s Office Captain Darren Campbell said.
The engineer of the train, which was travelling at its customary 35 to 40 mph, hit the horn and ‘stopped as fast as he could,’ Campbell said.
Kaiser and his friends were hoping to witness the ‘ghost train’ from an accident Aug 27, 1891. A passenger train jumped the tracks on a tall bridge near Statesville, North Carolina, sending seven rail cars below and about 30 people to their deaths.
On the wreck’s anniversary is said the sounds of screeching wheels, screaming passengers and a crash can still be heard. It is also claimed people have seen a uniformed man with a gold watch.
Kaiser’s mother said the family was too distraught to talk about the incident, CNN affiliate WCNC reported.