College Basketball Player Struck, Killed by Train Near University

A college basketball player at Wingate University in North Carolina was struck by a train near campus and killed on Tuesday night, campus officials said.

Kyle Honore, a freshman at Wingate, was hit by a train at the North Camden Street train crossing near the university entrance around 10:45 p.m. on Tuesday. The Wingate Police Department told Newsweek that officers, fire and EMS personnel "located a young male that had been struck by an eastbound train."

"The young man succumbed to his injuries while being transported to the hospital," police said.

According to Queen City News, authorities said that the train was not at the scene when they arrived, and the train operator was unaware that anyone had been hit. It was reported that someone near campus called 911 after seeing Honore's body on the train tracks.

It is currently unknown exactly how Honore was hit, and police said that the incident is still under investigation.

"The Wingate Police Department extends our deepest condolences to the friends, family and Wingate University classmates impacted by this incident," police said.

Honore was a recent addition to the Wingate Bulldogs basketball team. He was originally from Dumfries, Virginia, and had graduated from Potomac High, where he played all four seasons on the basketball team led by his father, Keith Honore.

Honore had been named Cardinal District Player of the Year his senior year of high school and averaged 19.3 points, 4.9 assists, 2.5 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game during his senior season.

According to a recent tweet from Coach Honore, Kyle's family dropped him off at Wingate University on August 14. While his Twitter account was made private, VirginiaPreps reported that the tweet said, "Dropped my guy @therealkyle_11 off yesterday...when your child leaves you apart of you leaves with him. Super excited for the chapter of his life. #wingate #ProudDad."

The Wingate Bulldogs tweeted on Wednesday, "Wingate mourns the loss of freshman @WingateMBB student-athlete Kyle Honore. We send our prayers, love, and support to Kyle's family, friends, and loved ones."

Wingate University's president, Dr. Rhett Brown, also released a statement on Wednesday, saying, "It's hard to reconcile the loss of Kyle Honore with the hopeful beginnings of a new academic year. To Kyle's family, teammates and friends, we grieve your loss and we pray for your care and well-being during this difficult time. At moments like these, we are reminded that life is both precious and fleeting. We can and should honor Kyle's memory by doing all we can to look out for, and care for, each other."

Marcus Kirkland, the assistant head coach for the Bulldogs men's basketball, wrote in a statement that "Kyle was a big personality who could light up the room and make friends quickly. Kyle was a great addition to our team and showed great promise coming out of high school as a four-year varsity player and three-year starter as a point guard. His presence will be missed by a lot of people."

The university also added on Wednesday that it was meeting with Honore's family to help them "deal with this terrible tragedy." Counseling services are also available for students who are grieving, and the university told Newsweek that details about a campus vigil and funeral arrangements will be shared once they are complete.