It was just after 3 a.m. on Friday, January 23 when Mobile Police Department officers got a call that would turn into a grim early‑morning discovery. In the quiet hours under a cold winter sky, drivers and residents near the 7100 block of Smith Street woke to flashing police lights at the edge of the railroad tracks. Minutes later, they learned a man had been found dead there.
Police later identified the body as 30‑year‑old Thomas Nelson Jr., a local man whose life was known to people who lived and worked around the area. Officers said Nelson’s body was discovered at about 3:15 a.m., lying close to the rails in a spot where freight and commuter trains pass through. The scene was somber and still, with detectives and crime‑scene technicians carefully marking evidence and photographing the surroundings.
Though early reports from the Mobile Police Department suggest Nelson may have been struck by a train, investigators have been careful not to call it definitive. Authorities said the autopsy, which can show the precise cause and manner of death, still needs to be completed before anything is confirmed. Until that medical report is finished, detectives are keeping all possibilities on the table and treating the case as an active investigation.
People living and working near Smith Street told reporters they had seen Nelson around town, that he was someone who seemed familiar with the rhythms of the neighborhood. Friends and neighbors have spoken quietly about how hard it is to reconcile the everyday guy they knew with the tragic image of his body found near the tracks.
Mobile police have not released additional details about what Nelson might have been doing before the incident, and officers did not say whether there were any signs of foul play or other people involved. The investigation continues, and detectives are asking anyone who may have been in the area late Thursday night or early Friday morning to come forward with information that could help piece together what happened.
For now, Nelson’s family is left waiting for answers, hoping the autopsy and ongoing examination of evidence will bring some clarity and peace. Friends who knew him describe him as someone with dreams and plans, someone they’ll remember as more than a headline.
As the community absorbs the news, questions linger about safety around the tracks and what might have led a young man onto them in the early hours of Friday. Police continue to follow up on leads, and anyone with information is encouraged to contact Mobile law enforcement.
