WNC Cyclist Killed by Train

A Hickory bicyclist who was struck by a train Monday died overnight at an Asheville hospital, police said Tuesday.

Mack Junior Johnson, 53, of Hickory was riding his bike Monday morning through a parking lot in Union Square, Hickory's city center, while a train was passing through.

Witnesses said Johnson was riding on the sidewalk toward the train when his front wheel jerked and he fell off the bike. He fell to the ground, said witness Justin Cornett, and was hit in the head by the passing train.

Johnson died in the trauma unit at Mission Hospital in Asheville, police said Tuesday.