61-year-old man fatally struck by train in Belleville remembered for his kindness
A 61-year-old man has died after he was struck by a train early Saturday morning in Belleville.
The Belleville Police Department responded to the train tracks at West Main and South 27th streets around 7:19 a.m. for a report of a fatal accident involving a pedestrian and a train, according to a news release.
Shelby “Joe” Kemp, 61, of Belleville, was pronounced dead at 8 a.m. at the scene, according to St. Clair County Coroner Calvin Dye Sr.
Belleville native Indigo Scott, who works at the Circle K near the tracks, thinks Kemp was walking to the convenience store at the time. He was a regular customer, and Scott said the workers usually saw him in the morning.
“We think he was coming here for his normal morning routine,” Scott said.
Kemp lived nearby. Scott said he would visit the store almost daily, sometimes bringing gifts like peppers and tomatoes from his garden for her. She said he brought fish that he caught for a coworker who doesn’t like peppers. And he took care of his sick mother, according to Scott.
“He was a nice man. He’d make sure I was having a good day,” Scott said. “... I never saw him mad or anything like that.”
Police said no foul play is suspected.
There were no reported injuries to the train’s crew, according to Rachel McDonnell Bradshaw, a spokeswoman for Norfolk Southern Railway. She said they were on the way from Kansas City, Missouri, to Jacksonville, Florida, when the accident happened in Belleville.
“At Norfolk Southern, the safety of our employees and the communities we serve is our No. 1 priority,” she wrote in a statement to the Belleville News-Democrat. “Norfolk Southern advises motorists and pedestrians to stay alert around railroad tracks and to be mindful of all warning signs and signals at railroad crossings.”
This story was originally published November 23, 2019 at 10:34 AM.
