A Panama City Beach woman has been identified as the person killed by a train in Panama City Friday morning.
According to a Panama City Police Department press release, Rebecca Marie Chambers, 43 of Panama City Beach was struck and killed by a train around 5 a.m. near the intersection of U.S. 231 and Star Avenue.
The train was headed south at about 35 mph, a “normal speed (for it) to travel into town,” McVay added.
“As they approached that intersection, they noticed a white female sitting on the tracks,” he said. “They took precautionary measures to try and stop the train, (but) the woman did not make any attempts to move out of the way.”
She was then hit and pronounced dead at the scene.
Immediately following the incident, the intersection was closed for the investigation. That caused traffic to back up for several miles along U.S. 231, which resulted in a handful of smaller accidents, McVay said.
The intersection has since reopened and local law enforcement is working to identify the victim, he added.
Ruth Corley, spokeswoman for the Bay County Sheriff’s Office, said sheriff’s deputies also responded but that PCPD was leading the investigation.
