WALNUT – A young man died early Wednesday after being struck by a passenger train in a commercial neighborhood in an apparent, authorities said.
The man was struck by an Amtrak train shortly before 6 a.m. along Valley Boulevard, just east of Pierre Road, Los Angeles County sheriff’s Lt. John Saleeby said. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The man’s name was not available Thursday. He was initially described as an Asian man of between 18 and 20 years old.
Initial reports indicated the death was a suicide, according to Amtrak spokeswoman Vernae Graham. It appeared the pedestrian lied down and placed his head on the tracks prior to being struck.
“Everything looks like suicide,” Lt. Holly Francisco of the Sheriff’s Homicide Bureau said. The investigation was ongoing, however, and an autopsy was planned by coroner’s officials.
No injuries were reported to any passengers or crew aboard the westbound train, which was just about to complete the Sunset Limited route from New Orleans to Los Angeles when the pedestrian was struck, Graham said. The train left New Orleans Sunday.
The incident took place on a section of track bordered by Valley Boulevard on one side, and businesses and fencing on the other. There are no crossings in the immediate area.
The exact speed the train was travelling was unclear, she said, however the speed limit for that section of the route is 65 mph.
Graham said the train was delayed for a little more than three hours before resuming its journey.