Man fatally struck by train in Pasadena

PASADENA — A man was struck and killed by a Gold Line train early Friday in Pasadena, authorities said.
The dead man was initially described by sheriff’s and Metropolitan Transit Authorities as a black man who appeared to be between 30 and 35 years old.
The incident was took place just before 5:40 a.m. on the Gold Line tracks at Del Mar Boulevard, between Arroyo Parkway and Raymond Avenue, Sgt. Dan Gardner of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Transit Service Bureau said. A local employee identified him as a transient, he added.
While it was not clear why the man was in the path of the train, he said, however investigators did not suspect foul play.
“We don’t know if he was intoxicated, under the influence, suicidal, or if it was an accident,” Gardner said.
All of the safety devices at the crossing, which included guard arms for both the street and sidewalk, were working properly, MTA spokesman Jose Ubaldo said.
Ubaldo added that the southbound train had just left the Del Mar Station en route for Union Station in Los Angeles. The exact speed was not available, but he estimated it to be under 20 mph.
“A pedestrian who was walking on the north sidewalk of Del Mar stepped in front of the train on the southbound track,” he said.
He was found lying on Del Mar Avenue, just west of the train tracks, where paramedics pronounced him dead, Pasadena Fire Department spokeswoman Lisa Derderian said.
None of the 40 or so passenger on the train were injured, Ubaldo said. They were taken by bus to the next train station and placed on another train to their destination.
A second track that runs parallel to the first was able to continue servicing trains during the investigation, though the track where the man was struck remained closed until just after 9 a.m., Gardner said.
No passengers reported seeing the incident, he added.
Ubaldo said the MTA has ample measures in place to help prevent fatalities on the Gold Line tracks, and Friday’s death was only the second to occur on the Gold Line route since it opened in 2003.
The other fatality was a suicide which took place in December of 2007 in Los Angeles, he said.
“We’ve been doing very good in implementing all of our security devices, measures, engineering, education and enforcement,” Ubaldo said.

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