SWEETWATER, Tenn. — A community is remembering a young mother who died after she was hit by a train.
The Sweetwater Police Department said Charlotte Castillo-Wong was on the tracks when a train came and the bars came down on her truck. SPD said when Charlotte was stuck on the tracks, it was during a very congested time for traffic, which is around 3 p.m. and 4 p.m.
Police said the train conductor tried to hit the horn multiple times and stop the train but was unsuccessful. They said she had just stepped out of her truck when the train hit her.
Charlotte was a wife and mother of three who was a prep cook at the Lazy Beagle.
Heidi Lewis is a hostess who worked with Charlotte. When asked about her, she said her first impression was immensely positive.
"[Charlotte] was a ray of sunshine," Lewis said. "She dressed very cute and had a bubbly personality."
Lewis mentioned that the loss of Charlotte has impacted the community, especially so since her children lost their mother.
"She added a lot to our environment and she will definitely be missed," she said.
In her last conversation with Charlotte, Lewis said she was getting ready to help a friend out in Georgia.
"I remember the last thing I said to her was, 'That is so sweet of you to do,' and that was the last thing I got to say to her," Lewis said.
Even though Lewis has worked at the Lazy Beagle for a few months, she said she loves how the community is like family.
"The family, the comradery here has been amazing," she said. "Even before this, I love this family here, it's a great environment. But this, in particular, has pulled everyone together. It warms your heart to know that we all care about each other so much."
The Lazy Beagle closed Friday in honor of Charlotte's passing to remember and reflect on "the smile, the kind heart, and the joy she brought to all that was so very blessed to know her."
"She was a very important member of our Beagle family, and we will struggle to fill the gap as she leaves in our work family and our hearts," the Lazy Beagle said. "Our deepest and most sincere condolences to all of Charlotte's family and friends."
When asked how she felt when she heard the news, she remembered the moment when she heard the train crash.
"I was actually hostessing," Lewis said. "We saw the train come to an abrupt stop and I remember Derek, our head chef, say to me, 'That train was going really fast and stopped suddenly,' and I thought, 'Well, that's not very good.' You always think, 'Oh gosh, I hope nobody got hurt.' But you never think it could possibly be someone that you know."
After hearing about the wreck, Lewis and the rest of the Lazy Beagle were trying to figure out who was involved.
"Maybe an hour later, rumors started swirling throughout the restaurant that, 'We were missing Charlotte,' 'She was supposed to be back,' and 'Could it have been her?' I don't know if some people in the kitchen got some direct news, but we were just all in huge disbelief for a long time," Lewis remembered. "We just kept trying to verify the color of the truck and what was the age of the lady, but the information at that point was just going back and forth."
Minutes of uncertainty went by and once everyone heard the news that Charlotte was killed, it was a hard pill to swallow.
"So we kept going with 'It might be [her]' and then we kept saying 'No no, no, it's not, it's not' and my heart just so desperately wanted to believe that it wasn't and for everybody's sake," she said. "And then by the time I was leaving, they were just confirming it. So by about a little after four o'clock, it was just like yes, it was her."
Some people in the community have commented on how fast the trains go in the area.
"I have heard people say that the trains go particularly fast through here," Lewis said. "I'm not from here, I moved from Chicago like a year and a half ago. So, I couldn't tell you if it's different now than it was. But I will say somebody made a comment right before we learned it was Charlotte... after we found out that someone got hit on the tracks, that it happens quite often. She said, probably this was the fifth time in a year that she'd seen somebody get hit on that track."
SPD's Patrol Sergeant Kelvin Franco said he is not aware of any previous incidents involving a train wreck in the Duck Park area. But he wants to remind those who come across a railroad crossing to give themselves 10 feet or more space in front of the tracks and to never stop on a railroad track.
"I do want to express my condolences to the family," Franco said. "This not only impacts her loved ones and friends and family but it hits us pretty hard as a city as well because we're a small community and there was very, very many people that were very distraught and upset from this incident."
Lewis said The Lazy Beagle is currently looking at ways to help Castillo-Wong's family.