THE PENDULUM
NEWS
WEDNESDAY. SEPTEMBER 1, 2010 // PAGE 3
Local man airlifted to hospital after train accident
Anna Johnson
Managing Editor
A white Chevrolet pickup truck was
struck at 8:10 p.m. Aug. 26 by a Norfolk
Southern train on Cook Road. The driver,
a Gibsonville native, was airlifted to
Chapel Hill.
Barry Kevin Shelton, 51, the driver of
the vehicle, suffered several lacerations
and had labored breathing. He was the
sole passenger.
Gibsonville Police Chief Mike Woznick
said Shelton had some sort of medical
ailment that may or may not have played
a role in the cause of the accident. The
police will know more when the medical
reports are released, which, he said, could
take more than a week to be completed.
Shelton was in the middle of the
railroad crossing arms when he was hit
by the train.
“You can drive right through the rails.
They’re made of thin wood," Elon Fire
Department Chief Eddie King said. “The
last thing you want to do is panic. With
that train coming by, you have no time
to react.”
King said the cargo trains can go as fast
as 35 to 50 miles per hour, but he didn’t
know how fast this train was going. The
westbound train has three locomotives
and 98 cars, said Rob Shapman, Norfolk
Southern train representative. His records
show the accident took place at 7:50 p.m.
and the track speed limit was 50 mph. A
Federal Railroad Administration Office
of Safety Analysis shows there have been
no other accidents at the Cook Road site.
Gibsonville Police Patrol Officer Alex
McCollum is handling the case, and he
said the incident report could take several
weeks before it can be released.
“We had to subpoena medical records,”
he said. “And a reconstruction team has
to complete their report.”
At this point, police are unsure if
Shelton’s medical history played a role
in the accident. Shelton could not be
reached for comment, but a UNC Medical
Center spokesperson said he was in stable
condition Friday, Aug. 27.
Cook Road dissects the Town of
Elon and the Town of Gibsonville. Elon
Fire Department and Gibsonville Police
Department are handling the accident.
Alamance Emergency Responders also
reported to the scene.
A group of Elon University students
was across the road at Phoenix West
Apartments when the accident happened.
They were at the hot tub between two
, >
JACK DODSON | Ptiolograptier
Police officers talk to reporters near the accident. Gibsonville Police Patrol Officer Alex McCollum said the incident report could take several weeks to complete.
buildings, where three students had a
direct view of the incident.
“I just saw the train go by and 1
happened to look up and I saw smoke,”
junior Katie Franklin said. “1 didn't really
hear it.”
Junior Jason Apple said right after
the incident, the glass from the car was
sprayed through the air — what Franklin
said looked like particles hanging in the
air. Apple said he saw the car in the air
as it was hit.
“The glass just blew out,” Apple said.
“(The train) tossed the car — it looked
like a cardboard box.”
The students said they ran
immediately toward the road by the
accident and talked to drivers passing by,
trying to figure out what had happened.
Franklin said they didn’t call 911 right
away because they saw a police car at the
intersection.
Sophomore Meg Plummer, who
contributed to this report, was in the
nearby pizza restaurant Anna Maria’s
Pizzeria when the accident happened.
She said she found out when she watched
a police officer sprint from the store after
he'd been paged that the incident had
occurred close by.
“On the walkie-talkie they said, 'It's
right where you are,’” Plummer said.
MEG PLUMMER | PhotographBr
A white Chevrolet pickup truck was struck by a train on Cook Road near University Drive Thursday evening.
The man, Barry Shelton, 51, was airlifted to the hospital, suffering from several lacerations.
“(The police officer) all of the sudden put
down his drink and sprinted out to the
train. People in the restaurant started
getting up and looking out the window
— people got up and were rushing to the
train, were crying hysterically. It was very
surreal... there were parts everywhere.”
Jack Dodson, Meg Plummer and Pam
Richter contributed to this report.
Lease to local business owner fulfills
part of The Elon Commitment
LIGHTHOUSE from PAGE 1
school officials about turning thebusiness
over to him. He said the opportunity was
a good one because it relieved Elon of the
liability of owning a bar.
With The Elon Commitment 10-year
strategic plan underway, the school has
been looking to attract local business
owners to develop the downtown area.
Whittington said leasing the bar to Russell
presented a good opportunity to do that.
“What we’re trying to do is facilitate
retail development in the town any way
we can,” Whittington said.
He said the development of downtown
Elon comes from three places — the town
itself, the school and the participation
of local entrepreneurs who invest in
businesses in Elon.
Russell said his recent opening of The
Town Table and move to open College
Street Tap House came from a good
opportunity to step up in the market he
calls the most important in Alamance
County.
“For the past probably year or so, we’ve
been talking to the university,” he said.
“We want to be here and help develop the
spot.”
He said down the road, he sees the
downtown being much larger than it is
now.
“It just becomes a whole hub of
commerce,” Russell said. “Lots of
opportunity for merchants. And the town
and the students are the ones who are
going to benefit.”
Wagner suspected in similar cases
INDECENT from PAGE 1
charged,” she said. “It hasn’t stopped him (in
the past), so while we know we have arrested
him for this, it doesn’t mean he’s not going
to continue doing it. So you definitely don’t
need to be letting your guard down because
we have made an arrest.”
Wagner’s record includes second degree
trespassing in 2003 and indecent exposure
in 1998 in AlamcUice Coimty.
In Orange County, he was found guilty
of secret peeping, simple assault and
hcirassing phone Ccills in 1991, indecent
exposure and probation violation in 1993,
cind indecent exposure in 1994.
In the upcoming weeks, the Elon Police
Department will go through all of the
indecent exposure cases to see which cases
Wagner is likely to be a suspect.
Dean of Student Life Smith Jackson sent
an e-mail to students Monday afternoon
with a photo of Wagner and a press release
from the Elon Police Department.
“Keep your doors locked and Wcilk in
pairs,” Jackson said. “You just never know
when something like this could happen. It
is everyone’s responsibility to keep things
safe and secure."
Police reports show there have been
more than 10 indecent exposure cases
since 2008. Some are seemingly connected
while others appear to be single incidents.
Wagner’s court case is set for Oct. 4.
Sidetrack Grill closed
because of rent issues
Jack Dodson
News Editor
Mike Dula, Elon’s town manager,
confirmed Sidetrack Grill was closed
mid-August because rent was not
being paid on the building.
Dula said the town is not involved
in the closing of the restaurant, but
the building’s owner, Joel Brown, had
taken the action against Sidetrack
Grill.
A sign on the front door of the
establishment reads: “Sidetracks is
permanently closed. We would like
to thank all our patrons for years of
support. Please continue to support
local businesses on Lebanon Ave.”
Elon University has no interest
in buying the building and won’t
be involved in what happens to it,
said Gerald Whittington, Elon’s vice
president for business, finance and
technology.
Sidetrack Grill has had related
issues in the past, including a brief
closing during March 2009 because
of tax evasion. During that time, the
restaurant was closed by the North
Carolina Department of Revenue.
According to a restaurant employee
and Elon student. Sidetrack Grill also
had trouble paying its employees. The
anonymous employee, who asked to
remain unnamed, said workers were
paid under the table and never had to
pay taxes on their wages, which were
rarely paid on time.
“Basically we would get paid in
cash at random,” the employee said.
“We were supposed to get paid every
Friday, but that never happened.”
When Sidetrack Grill was closed
down recently, the employee said the
restaurant never called to explain.
“1 have just heard from a cook who
used to work there that for a while
they’ve been having money issues,”
the employee said. “They didn’t call
_ II
me.
The worker also said managers at the
restaurant never required a W-4, and
if the tips didn’t cover the difference
between wages and minimum wage,
the restaurant wouldn’t always raise
pay.
“Your employer is only required
to pay $2.13 an hour in direct wages
if that amount plus the tips received
equals at least the federal minimum
wage of $7.25 per hour," according to
PayWizard.org, a Harvard Law School-
afhliated website.
The restaurant, located at 110 W.
Lebanon Ave., was owned and operated
by Chad Snyder, an Elon alumnus
and former adjunct religious studies
professor. Snyder also formerly owned
Lighthouse Tavern and Deli, until he
was arrested inlate 2007 for possession
with the intent to sell and/or deliver
cocaine. He was later charged with
possessing approximately 165 mL
of Schedule 1 GHB, a common date
rape drug, violating the Controlled
Substance Act.
Brown and Snyder could not been
reached for comment.