Man, 79, dies in collision with train

Report: 79-year-old man's vehicle was parked on tracks

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A driver was killed after the 79-year-old man's vehicle was struck by a train in Wedgefield early Thursday. 

The driver — identified as Sidney Jackson of Wedgefield by Sumter County Coroner Robbie Baker — apparently parked his vehicle on the train tracks, according to an incident report from Sumter County Sheriff's Office.

The train conductor told the responding deputy he saw a vehicle, a silver 2009 Mercury, parked on Bullet Road, near Wedgefield Road, with its lights off and then saw the driver park the vehicle on the tracks.

According to the report, Jackson drove the front half of the vehicle over the tracks, backed up and parked on the tracks. 

The conductor told the deputy he flashed the lights and blew the horn multiple times, but the vehicle did not move. He was unable to stop the train and struck the vehicle.

Jackson was unresponsive when the responding deputy arrived on scene, and attempts to revive him — chest compressions and an automated external defibrillator — had no effect, according to the release. 

Jackson's next of kin have been notified, and an autopsy will be scheduled for a later date in Newberry, according to a news release from the coroner's office.