Victim in Deadly Train Collision Identified As Tuscaloosa Bar Owner

The victim in a deadly predawn train collision Wednesday morning has been identified as a Tuscaloosa man long associated with the downtown bar scene.

A spokesperson for the Tuscaloosa Police Department has confirmed that the man killed when his SUV was struck by a passing train Wednesday was 37-year-old Scott Harless, who has been a bartender, manager and owner in Temerson Square for years.

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After tending bar and becoming a manager at Gnemi's Top Shelf in Temerson Square, Harless bought Green Bar, the music venue and watering hole on 4th Street, from its longtime owner Bill Lloyd in 2019.

Harless and others transformed the bar into the Nocturnal Tavern, a newish downtown bar that has found its footing as a haven for Tuscaloosa townies and many University of Alabama students and staff.

Harless was known to almost everyone who does business in the downtown area and some nearby establishments closed Wednesday to allow staff to process his death. Among those closed was Central Mesa, where Harless was a co-owner with Brandon Tribble after the restaurant's founder Craig Williams sold it to the pair last year.

The thoughts of the Tuscaloosa Thread are with those who knew and loved Harless and with the entire downtown service industry community as they mourn this loss.