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LEHI -- An Amtrak train carrying passengers to Denver hit and killed a man lying on the tracks in Lehi late Thursday night.
Police are still in the process of notifying the 25-year-old man's family of his death, so his name has not been released. But police are saying that his last known residence was in Lehi, and that foul pay does not appear to be involved with his death.
This man was killed by a AmTrak train, called the California Zephyr, as it was headed north through Lehi around 11:45 last night, in the area of 400 South and 400 West. According to an AmTrak spokesperson, the train was coming around a dark bend when the man appeared on the tracks in front of the train. Lehi police say the man was actually lying across the train tracks.
They all blow their whistles and horns. So the person crossing last night, there is no way they couldn't have had a warning about it.
–- Susan Park
The Engineer of the train told police that by the time he saw the man there just wasn't enough time to stop.
"(The engineer) immediately slammed on the breaks to stop the train, but you can't stop a train that fast and it ran over the body that was on the train tracks," said Officer Greg Neer with the Lehi Police
The train came to a stop, waking several of the passengers on board, who then watched for the next two and a half hours as Lehi police investigated the fatality. Eventually, after a thorough interview with the engineer, the train was allowed to continue on its journey to Denver, and then eventually Chicago.
We spoke with nearby residents who say the train always gives a clear indication that it's coming through town, so the man should have had time to get out of the way if he wanted to.
Susan park, who lives next to the tracks, said "They all blow their whistles and horns. So the person crossing last night, there is no way they couldn't have had a warning about it."
Lehi police are leading the investigation into what happened, and are looking into the possibility that what happened was intentional.
We're told AmTrak is also conducting their own investigation.
E-mail: spark@ksl.com
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