LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Authorities have released the name of a teenager girl hit and killed by a train on the Pope Lick train trestle.
The Jefferson County Coroner's Office said 15-year-old Savanna Bright died Sunday night at the train overpass near Taylorsville Road.
"I just miss my best friend," said Faith Erhard, Savanna's friend. "She meant everything to me, and I loved her just like family."
Officers responded to a report of two pedestrians hit by a train at the old train trestle on Taylorsville Road and South Pope Lick Road around 9:30 p.m., according to LMPD Spokesperson Dwight Mitchell.
Mitchell said two teenager females were on the train trestle when they were hit by a Norfolk Southern train. Savanna was one of those girls, and the family has identified the other girl by her first name, Kaylee.
"Her mom warned her about that place," said Kaylee's grandmother, Patty Crume. "She even told her mom that she wasn't that stupid to do that, but here we are."
Bright was pronounced dead at the scene. Kaylee was transported to the hospital in critical condition.
Following the tragic accident, heartbroken loved ones are seeking change around the Pope Lick trestle. As of now, fencing on one side of the trestle is all that blocks pedestrians from climbing up the the trestle, and there's no where to go but down if a train approaches.
"I feel like the train company should put in platforms, because there's going to be people that you cannot stop," Erhard said. "If there's something preventable to save someone's life, it should be in place."
"Teens have their own mind," Crume added. "They're going to do whatever they're going to do."
Family and friends of both of the teenagers are begging that people stay away from the area.
"You never know if something bad will happen," Erhard said. "You may assume that you'll be OK, but it just takes one second and you're gone."
To donate to a GoFundMe page to help pay for Savanna's funeral costs, click here. Another GoFundMe to help pay for Kaylee's medical bills can be found here.
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