Woman dies searching for Goatman; had plans to visit Waverly Hills
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LOUISVILLE, KY (WAVE) - An Ohio couple in search of a local urban legend found something else; a train barreling at them while they are on a trestle. One woman was hit and killed by that train near the 3100 block of South Pope Lick Road Saturday evening.
Many may look at trestle and think that it's not active, but it is. Trains go by constantly. The foot traffic in the area has also picked up since the Parklands of Floyds Fork has expanded.
Ron Crouch has seen more people walking the Louisville Loop, but he also knows why people come out to the area. They come in search of the urban legend, the Goatman.
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"I guess you do have some people who are paranormals and want to explore those things," Crouch said.
That's what Roquel Bain, 26, and her boyfriend were in search of on Saturday. They came to Louisville to check out Waverly Hills Sanatorium for a haunted tour.
"Ms. Bain was scheduled for Saturday night 10 p.m.," Waverly Hills owner Tina Mattingly said.
But, they didn't make it. Waverly Hills staffers were saddened when they found out why.
Bain and her boyfriend decided to come out to Pope Lick Road before their tour at Waverly to see if they could find the Goatman.
According to the coroner, Bain and her boyfriend made their way to the train tracks when the train surprised them. The coroner said Bain's boyfriend told him they realized they couldn't make it to the end of trestle so they decided to hang off the sides but, Bain couldn't move fast enough. She was hit by the train and fell about 100 feet to the ground
"Trains can weigh several thousand tons that can be moving at 20, 30, 40, 50 miles per hour," Norfolk Southern spokesman Dave Pidgeion said. "It's just not worth risking your safety or your life."
Bain's boyfriend did survive. Norfolk Southern, which operated the train, said no myth is worth the risk.
Those in area know that well.
"You would think people would know better than to do that because it's a long trestle," Crouch said. "If you get caught out in the middle you don't have time to go back."
Bain was a resident of Dayton, OH. Police have not released her boyfriend's name. Norfolk Southern said people can be charged with trespassing if they are accessing railroad property illegally.
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