Tourist dies on search for Pope Lick monster
Two young Ohio tourists, searching for the Pope Lick Trestle monster while in Louisville, saw a train barreling their way with no time to run.
Safety was about 40 feet away, but Roquel Bain, 26, and her boyfriend didn't have time to make it off the train trestle Saturday night. He dangled off the edge until the train could pass, but she didn't make it.
A Norfolk Southern train fatally struck Bain, who was then knocked more than 80 feet to the ground below.
Jeffersontown fire officials rescued the boyfriend, whose name has not been released, after he climbed back on top of the trestle, near the 3100 block of South Pope Lick Road close to Taylorsville Road, officials said.
Bain was pronounced dead at the scene at 7:39 p.m.
"It’s just so sad - a very pretty young girl who had her life in front of her," deputy coroner Jack Arnold said. "It's just so preventable."
In her purse, investigators found a work badge that indicated she had worked as a surgical assistant.
There were no signs the couple had been drinking or abusing drugs, but toxicology tests on the victim are pending, he said.
Homicide detectives with the Louisville Metro Police Department are investigating, but on Sunday spokeswoman Alicia Smiley said, "There's nothing to indicate foul play."
The train engineer told officials his speed was 32 mph when he saw the couple, sounded the horn and tried to brake, Arnold said. Investigators will review the train's video footage, he said.
The boyfriend told officials he and Bain came to town from Dayton for a paranormal tour scheduled from 10 p.m. to midnight Saturday.
Brandon Barnes, a security guard at Waverly Hills Sanatorium, said Bain had purchased two tickets online for $25 each for Saturday night's guided tour, which was attended by 45 ghost hunters.
Bain and her boyfriend decided to spend time beforehand hunting for the Pope Lick monster, the subject of an urban legend and popularized on videos on Youtube and other social media sites and in a movie.
The deputy coroner said he personally has investigated a handful of fatal train incidents that ranged from a homeless person falling asleep on the tracks, to a thrill seeker misjudging the time they had to get off the tracks to someone committing suicide. He said this is the first victim confirmed searching for the monster.
During his investigation, Arnold said he has learned that the area is popular with teens and young adults - especially on New Year's.
One Instagram photo from 2014, which got 188 likes, shows an Eastern High School graduate and a friend with their legs dangling off the trestle and proclaiming, "The Pope Lick Monster didn't get us, but a train almost did!"
Beth Warren can be reached at 502-582-7164 or bwarren@courier-journal.com.