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Norfolk man killed in truck, Amtrak train collision in Suffolk

Posted at 2:54 PM, Oct 26, 2018
and last updated 2018-10-26 14:55:00-04

Karl Alexander Hill.

SUFFOLK, Va. - A Norfolk man is dead after his truck collided with a train in Suffolk.

We first brought you this as breaking news Thursday night.

Suffolk Police said 61-year-old Karl Hill died when the dump truck he was driving collided with an Amtrak train.

We spoke with a longtime friend of Hill’s Friday.

“It’s more devastation," Sandra Williams said after hearing of Hill's death. "It’s shocking, just unbelievable."

According to Williams, Hill was a father and husband who retired from city after 20 years.

Williams told us the family is still trying to wrap their heads around what happened.

"He always provided for his family. He made sure that the family what was necessity needed. He went beyond the call of duty. He was just an outgoing person," Williams told News 3.

News 3 also spoke with a passenger on the train during the deadly crash.

Eleyan Mohammed said it was scary and crazy last night, saying he didn’t realize just how bad it was until he saw dozens of police officers rushing to the area.

“The terrifying scene that we saw was the police officers rushing to the scene, so we were like 100 percent sure that there was something wrong happening,” Mohammed said.

That "something" was a deadly collision between the train and Hill's white dump truck.

The impact left the truck mangled.

“We were just pushed forward, and we didn’t think in the moment that anything bad happened,” Mohammed said.

He told us passengers sat fr about 30 minutes, wondering what happened, before learning of the devastation.

Hill died before he could be taken to the hospital.

“We have to come to the reality that this has happened and we have to accept it," Williams explained.

According to Amtrak, only one of the 60 passengers on board was injured.

As for Mohammed, he wasn’t physically hurt, but says he didn’t walk away unscathed.

“I would never now board the Amtrak without thinking about this incident. I will be looking for alternatives,” Mohammed detailed.

The cause of the crash is still under investigation.