JEFFERSON CO., Ill.—Authorities are being vague about what’s being reported as a car-train wreck that took the life of a young Wayne City man, supposedly at a Bluford rail crossing yesterday morning.
Shaun M. Betts, 35, is the man who was found in his Honda Element SUV at what appears to be blocks away from a rail crossing after a reported collision at about 4:15 a.m. Saturday, June 21, 2014.
Authorities would only indicate that Betts was “found in the front seat of his vehicle” and that the coroner pronounced him dead at around 5 a.m. after being called to a location at 1320 W. Sixth Street in the little Jefferson County town. Why authorities were called to that location remains unknown, as it is nowhere near a rail crossing.
There’s been no indication of who reported the accident (train personnel or someone else in the vicinity); no indication of what kind of trauma there was to Betts, if any were visible; how badly damaged the vehicle was; whether the train stopped, or merely kept going; or any other detail that would make the whole thing make sense as regards reporting such a tragedy to authorities. In short, when Jefferson County authorities do this kind of thing—and it’s common for them to give just enough details to make it all confusing—it always raises more questions than it does anything else.
If there’s more, we’ll report it. Keep checking back.