Man struck and killed by Metrolink Train
A man was riding his bicycle when he was struck and sadly killed by a Metrolink commuter train on a Friday afternoon. A spokeswoman for the Los Angeles Fire Department said that the man had died at the scene. His name however, could not be released.
The spokesman for the Metrolink said that the fatality involved the 218 train. The train was bound for the Union Station in downtown Los Angeles. The tragic accident happened around 3:50 that evening along the Van Nuys Boulevard which is near the intersection of San Fernando Road, which is between the Sun Valley and the Sylmar stations.
The incident delayed the other trains and canceled the service on some of the lines. Buses were brought in so they could pick up passengers and take them to their destinations. The spokesman for The Metrolink stated that it appeared that the bicyclist was trying to beat the train. It was unclear why the man kept going since the safety gates were down and the warning signals were going off. Although, the Los Angeles Police Department will have to confirm that.
According to reports, in 2013 there were about 20 fatalities involving the Metrolink trains, although some of those fatalities were suicides. Four pedestrians were killed in the span of two weeks in the spring. One of those people jumped in front of a train.
In one of the other cases, a group of taggers were scrawling graffiti near Cal State Los Angeles when they spotted the train heading towards San Bernardino. Two of the young men had crossed the tracks to leave but the third doubled back so he could finish his work when he was killed.
Another case which happened not long ago happened when a young man waited for a freight train to pass by. The crossing gates remained lowered after the train went by but the man decided to cross anyway. He didn’t see that a Metrolink train was now crossing and he was killed.
Daniel A. Gibalevich
DAG Law Firm
