Parents of 15-year-old Louisville girl killed on Pope Lick trestle sue railroad company

The parents of Savanna Bright, a 15-year-old Louisville girl who died last year after she was hit by a train while walking on the Pope Lick trestle, have filed a lawsuit against Norfolk Southern Railway over the tragic incident.

In the lawsuit, filed May 21 in Jefferson Circuit Court, Tommy Bright and Mary Mikesell accuse the railway of failing to take measures to keep their daughter and others from accessing the Pope Lick train trestle that is near Taylorsville Road and Interstate 265.

Savanna and her friend, 16-year-old Kaylee Keeling, were on the elevated train tracks about 9:10 p.m. on May 26, 2019, when they were hit by a Norfolk Southern train, Louisville police previously said.

Savanna was pronounced dead at the scene, while Kaylee suffered serious injuries but survived. The two friends were both students at Seneca High School.

Norfolk Southern Corporation and its railway subsidiary are named as defendants in the suit along with the conductor and engineer of the train that fatally hit Savanna on May 26, 2019.

Previously:Louisville teen's death on train trestle was preventable, friends say

Other unnamed defendants whose "reckless, intentional or malicious acts or omissions" contributed to the incident are also included in the complaint.

Helen Bukulmez, the attorney who filed the lawsuit on behalf of the parents, said she did not have any comment at this time.

A spokesperson for Norfolk Southern, based in Norfolk, Virginia, said the railroad company does not comment on current or pending litigation.

The railroad firm "should have known that the unsecured, unsafe, unfenced, open and easily accessible" Pope Lick trestle was "attractive" to pedestrians, the suit alleges.

The suit adds that Norfolk Southern "took no measures" to prevent deaths or serious injuries.

The lawsuit also claims that the operator of the train that fatally hit Bright that night was traveling at a clip "greater than rail speed maximums for the track or trestle class" and then "failed to slow, brake, slacken speed or stop the train to avoid the deadly collision."

And the suit also alleges Norfolk Southern failed to equip the tracks, trestle and train with several safety features that would allow trespassers to avoid getting hit.

Those safety features include horns that could warn pedestrians of an approaching train, as well as fencing, barriers, warning lights or reflective material, among other items.

Norfolk Southern left "dangerous access points" open to the trestle and failed to properly warn people tempted to trespass of the "dangerous and deadly trestle," the suit adds.

The lawsuit asks for unspecified damages and compensation, among other requests.

The Pope Lick trestle is 742 feet long, with a 90-foot drop at its center.

It's still not known why the girls were on the tracks. 

But over the years, others have been hit and killed by trains on the trestle while searching for the Pope Lick Monster as part of a local urban legend that suggests "the goat man" can be summoned by stepping on the trestle or by crossing it.

Following the deadly incident last May, Jeffersontown Fire Chief Sean Dreisbach told The Courier Journal there is no way to properly secure the trestle or keep people from trespassing.

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The trestle is accessible from several points, and while there are warning signs, they are not always an effective deterrent to thrillseekers.

At the entrance of the park at Pope Lick Road and Taylorsville Road, two small warning signs hang on a chain-link fence topped with barbed wire.

An access gate is bolted shut, but a well-worn path runs through the gate to the trestle, as The Courier Journal reported last year.

A local resident noted last year that some people who want to walk the tracks drive to Taylorsville English Station roads and hike the 19 minutes to the trestle.

At that entry point, no warning or trespassing signs are visible from the road.

The Courier Journal also reported in 2016 that a retired train engineer who regularly drove down the old track was involved in 43 collisions during his 34-year career with Norfolk Southern, only one of which was a suicide. 

After her death last year, friends of Savanna and her family said if platforms had been installed on the trestle, then the girl would still be alive.

Reach Billy Kobin at bkobin@courierjournal.com or 502-582-7030. Support strong local journalism by subscribing today: courier-journal.com/subscribe.