Crash victim identified in early-morning fatal accident

Tuesday, September 9, 2014
Courtesy of Kyle Gibbons A view of the vehicle after being pulled from the the tracks and onto the roadway.

FILLMORE -- At 5:12 a.m. on Tuesday, the Putnam County Sheriff's Department was dispatched to the scene of an inverted vehicle on fire with entrapment.

Deputies arrived on scene to find a 2004 Ford Taurus inverted and fully engulfed in flames on the train tracks between Old Right-of-Way Road and North County Road 425 East.

Investigating officer Kyle Gibbons stated that preliminary observations of the crash scene showed Robert "Bob" Beasley, 23, Roachdale, was traveling southbound on North County Road 425 East when he was unable to navigate a curve in the roadway.

Beasley apparently made an effort to brake in an attempt to avoid an accident, but was unsuccessful.

"The vehicle left the road and made front-end impact into the side of the railroad tracks, approximately 20 feet below the roadway," Gibbons said. "The vehicle then proceeded to flip up onto the railroad tracks before coming to rest on its top. At this time it is believed that the initial impact into the side of the railroad triggered the vehicle fire."

Deputies made an attempt to rescue the Beasley, who was pronounced dead at the scene by the Putnam County Coroner's Office, but were overcome by the intensity of the fire itself.