Caleb Bankston Dies: Survivor Contestant Killed In Railway Accident

Caleb Bankston, a former Survivor: Blood vs. Water contestant, was killed this week in a railway accident in Alabama.

The 26-year-old Bankston was working as a locomotive engineer at the Alabama Warrior Railway in Birmingham when a train derailed, killing him.

The cause of the railway derailment is not known, but reportedly under investigation by the Federal Railroad Administration and OSHA.

Details of Bankston’s death were not available, including whether he died on scene or was transported to a hospital.

After his death, Caleb Bankston was remembered fondly by cast and crew on Survivor. Aras Baskauskas remembered him as a dedicated friend, tweeting: “Caleb was an amazing man and friend. One of the sweetest and most sincere humans I’ve ever come across.”

People magazine reported that this death sent “shockwaves” through the Survivor community, with several other contestants expressing their condolences.

Caleb Bankston appeared on the show in 2013, competing with fiancé Colton Cumbie. The pair finished the game in ninth place.

Bankston is not the first recent reality show contestant to be killed in an accident. In April, Bachelorette contestant Eric Hill was killed in a paragliding crash, just weeks before the show would go to air.

Hill survived for days after the accident, but ultimately died of his injuries.

“Eric shared his final journey with us this morning as all his immediate family were able to be at his side when he passed away. Thank you to all of your love and support and prayers and fasting. It was amazing to be with so many of his friends and family yesterday in the hospital who came to express their love for Eric,” Hill’s sister Karen Tracy wrote on her Facebook page Wednesday.

Other Survivor contestants have died before Caleb Bankston. Jenn Lyon, who competed on Survivor: Palau, died in 2010 after a long fight with breast cancer.