Hey everyone. This is a true story. It really happened, and I’ll never forget it.
The date was August 25, 2018. It was the first week of college for a lot of students. I remember it so clearly, because what happened that night shook me deeply. I was on YouTube watching the Virtual Railfan stream. The camera was set on Flagstaff, Arizona. Normally, I watched the feed from La Plata, Missouri since it’s usually more active, but that stream was down. So I tuned into Flagstaff instead. It turned out to be an unusually busy night for trains there. The crossing was lit by rows of bright streetlights, and train after train rolled through as the evening went on.
After a while, the streets started filling up with college students. They were pouring in from the Southside neighborhood, drawn to the bars and the energy of that first weekend back to school. The only reason I knew of this is cause in the chat, people were commenting that it was the start of the school year. You could see many students being happy and having a good time walking out of the bars.
Then, just before 11 PM local time, the warning bells started ringing. The crossing gates began to lower, slowly, like they always do. But people kept crossing. Some walked faster. Some didn’t seem to care at all. It was like the warning signals didn’t matter.
The chat lit up immediately. Everyone watching started panicking.
"Someone’s going to get hit!" You could feel the tension rising fast. The moderators were doing everything they could to calm people down, but the fear was spreading. You could see the danger, and we all felt powerless.
Then we heard the train’s horn. Long and loud. That low, urgent sound that demands attention. The BNSF engine was massive and glowing orange, tearing down the track toward the crossing.
One person broke away from the crowd. A young man. He made a sudden run rushing toward the tracks. For a moment, he was just a silhouette, racing against the roar of the oncoming train blaring its horn with a full loud continuous burst. Everyone in the chat was shouting, frozen in disbelief.
What in the hell is he doing?
Then, in an instant, he was gone.
The train didn’t stop in time. It couldn’t. It flew through the crossing, brakes screaming, lights flashing. The young man never came out on the other side. He just disappeared. Like the train had erased him from the world.
The chat went silent. A cold, sinking feeling set in. We all knew what had just happened. Moments later, red and blue lights started flashing on screen. Police and emergency vehicles arrived. There was no official word yet, but we already knew the truth. Someone didn’t make it. The stream kept going. The moderators were overwhelmed. That was the night I watched someone die on a livestream.
The next morning, the news confirmed it. His name was Jason Wygle. A college student. He had tried to "tag" the train. It was supposed to be a dare. A rush or a joke. He tried to touch a moving freight train. And he never walked away from it. The train struck him and killed him on the spot. His body ended up under the train itself.
Let this be a lesson. Trains are not a game. They won’t stop. They don’t care about dares or stunts. Don’t mess around near them. Don’t test your luck. You won’t win.
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2 months, 1 week ago
18 Jul 2025 02:52 CEST
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