Freight Train Kills Transient Who Wandered Onto Tracks

A 36-year-old man was killed by a train near Browne’s Addition Saturday evening after stumbling onto the tracks.

The man was thrown the length of a city block by the westbound train. He was taken to Sacred Heart Medical Center, where he later died in surgery.

Police say the man, a transient believed to be from Seattle, had been drinking with two other men before wandering onto the tracks about 5 p.m. Saturday near Fourth and Sunset.

Witnesses told police the man stood alone on the tracks as the train bore down upon him, honking its horn. There was no indication of foul play, police said.

Police did not know if an autopsy would be performed.

Neighbor William “Lucky” Cecile said transients often drink on the railroad embankment behind the Swamp Tavern, adjacent to the tracks.

“I’ve told police all about it, but they say it’s the railroad’s land,” said Cecile, who lives next to the tracks. “My wife is scared to death of them.”

, DataTimes