Published on May 14, 2025 9:44 pm
Last Updated on May 14, 2025 9:44 pm
A local man was killed when the bicycle he was riding was struck by a freight train at the Jefferson Avenue crossing Wednesday afternoon.
The man has been identified as 34-year-old Travis D. Ingram of Effingham.
Effingham city police responded to a call at 4:44pm. Arriving officers discovered Ingram unresponsive and laying near the tracks. Rural Med EMS took Ingram to the HSHS St. Anthony’s Memorial Hospital emergency room where he was pronounced dead at 5:17pm. The Effingham County Coroner’s Office was called to the scene and the emergency room.
Preliminary information gathered at the scene indicated the Canadian National freight train was northbound when Ingram, riding west, crossed the tracks in front of the train. Ingram was wearing headphones that could have impaired his ability to hear the train. The bicycle was found on the east side of the tracks and the headphones on the west side. The crossing has lights and gates, but is considered a “quiet zone” where no train horn is sounded.
Neither the conductor nor the engineer on the train were injured.
The railroad crossings at Jefferson, St. Anthony, Wabash and Clark Avenues were closed until about 8pm.
The investigation is continuing by the Effingham City Police Department, Effingham County Coroner’s Office, and the Canadian National Railroad. Assisting were the Effingham Detective Bureau, Effingham County Sheriff’s Office, and Illinois State Police.
