Woman, lying on track, struck by train

BAY MINETTE, Ala. (WALA) - A woman remains in the hospital with in critical condition after being struck by a train.

According to the Baldwin County Sheriff’s Office, Crystal Lambert, 29, was riding with Dewayne Sprinkle when their vehicle ran out of gas near the train tracks on Tall Pine Road.

Ella Adams' granddaughter woke her because a man and woman were arguing outside their home on Tall Pine Road around 11 p.m. Monday.

Adams could see the couple on the security camera mounted on the side of the house.

"They was arguing bad," Adams said. "They argued for a long time, about an hour — loud. You could hear a lot of stuff."

That same camera captured video of the train screeching to a halt about an hour later. Adams found out the train had hit Lambert, who was lying on the tracks between the rails. She heard the train braking outside her home.

"A loud noise woke me up, and the train just stopped," she said.

Adams feared the worst. Her fears were correct, Lambert had been hit by the train which was moving about 25 mph.

"I knew something bad had happened, because they had told me before the train came that this lady ran down these tracks," Adams said.

Sprinkle told deputies that they had both been drinking heavily prior to the incident.

Lambert was transported via Life Flight and is listed in critical condition. Sprinkle was arrested on two previous warrants. BCSO says their investigation is ongoing.

Adams said her friend talked to Sprinkle outside her house after he and Lambert had split. Sprinkle asked for gas, and they gave him some.

Tuesday, the car Sprinkle was driving was still parked on the side of the road where it ran out of gas.

"He tried to get her to come back," Adams said.

Sprinkle told Adams' friend he had just met Lambert earlier in the day and that they had been drinking a lot prior to the incident.

The hospital is not releasing any information about Lambert's condition.

FOX10 News Reporter Renee Dials will have more on the story at 5 p.m., and on FOX 10tv.com.