Freight train strikes, kills person near Tacoma
TACOMA, Wash. (AP) - BNSF Railway says a person is dead after being struck by one of its freight trains near Tacoma.
Railroad spokesman Gus Melonas in Seattle says it happened at 11:40 p.m. Thursday.
He says the train was traveling from Seattle to Portland when it hit a person trespassing on BNSF Railway property about three miles south of Tacoma, in the Titlow Beach area.
Melonas says the incident shut down the line for about two hours and delayed two trains. There were no injuries to the train crew.
Melonas says the person was the 14th to be struck and fatally injured by a train on BNSF property this year.
BNSF Railway is investigating.
Railroad spokesman Gus Melonas in Seattle says it happened at 11:40 p.m. Thursday.
He says the train was traveling from Seattle to Portland when it hit a person trespassing on BNSF Railway property about three miles south of Tacoma, in the Titlow Beach area.
Melonas says the incident shut down the line for about two hours and delayed two trains. There were no injuries to the train crew.
Melonas says the person was the 14th to be struck and fatally injured by a train on BNSF property this year.
BNSF Railway is investigating.
even though there is a 6 foot tall fence at Titlow, you can EASILY access the tracks where they cross 6th Avenue. Dude might have just started ambling on the tracks that way.  The fence was put there a few years ago after two young folks were on the tracks and it ended in tragedy.... so sad. Â
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I love trains, and hate for them to be blamed for this.  Trains don't kill people... people kill themselves by getting on the tracks. Â
The freight train didn't kill this person... they committed suicide, whether intentional or unintentional, by trespassing on the tracks. Now, this is a really stupid thing to do but many of us did it when we were kids or teenagers before we realized, "Hey, I'm not invincible, I can be killed!" Maybe we would have realized this fact sooner if our parents had cut out the articles about people getting killed and stuck them on the refrigerator (I, for one, never paid attention to the news when I was a kid and had no idea people ever REALLY got killed on the tracks. I thought it was just one of those parental warnings you ignore because old people are such worry warts.) What strikes me as really crazy, though, is when I hear about adults getting killed on the tracks. Haven't most people realized by then that they should stay off the tracks? Hmmm... maybe we should hit them where their pocketbooks are... my own daughter was confronted by a policeman when a group of them crossed the tracks at a spot that was not meant for crossing and low and behold, a couple weeks later she got a ticket in the mail for trespassing! That got her attention! Since these train/passenger accidents can be dangerous for the train personnel and any passengers if they are a passenger train, perhaps they should give out more of those tickets. (P.S. - I am sorry for the family of this individual. I'm sure he/she has people who loved them and will miss them. Terrible thing to have happen.)
 @justathought When we first moved to an area near train tracks, one of the first things we heard was teens describing how the police had recently had to pick up the body parts of another teen hit by the train. That stuck with me thoroughly and pretty well convinced me to give trains plenty of space.
"Freight train strikes, kills person near Tacoma"
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Sorry, but that sounds like the mean ole train jumped off its tracks and intentionally went after the poor victim. Â Mean, nasty train!
 @Tim Lane My thoughts exactly.....
How about: "Idiot walks on train tracks and proves Darwin rules."
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I cringe every time I hear this, during my years on the Fire Dept. I "recovered" my share of ijits who got smacked by trains.
That explains why that train was stalled in Kent when I drove over the 167 overpass which I was curious about. Even made me think about the 2 deaths that happened on that stretch that I remember. But 14 this year? What is it with you people? Stay off the damn tracks!
Ever heard of the laws of tonage.
A lot of things could have happened. We do not know what state of mind this person was in. It is possible that they may have wanted to commit suicide. Either way, my condolences to the family and friends. May this person RIP.
I saw this happen 2x while I lived there from 96 to 03.... weird here is that I just so happened to be there at the beach tavern for first time since 03 and this happened.
If it was at Titlow, there's like a 6 foot tall fence surrounding the train tracks... So the person had to JUMP over it to get in the way...
Puget sound has miles of beach that is totally ruined by these train lines. Public access to our wonderful Puget Sound is cut off by the rails and the beach ecology is totally screwed up by the huge rock structures the tracks are built on. These lines were built decades ago when there were no easier routes to build the rails. Well, this is today and we want our beaches back! Find another route!
 @Scott Collier Gee Scott, do property rights mean anything to you? Maybe they should keep you from ever crossing their property anywhere? When you drive your car across a rail crossing its only because they are allowing you to. Its their property and they were here first.
 @Scott Collier There still are no easier routes. In fact, due to other development, it would probably be even more difficult now than it would have been decades ago. And I, for one, enjoy going to the beach and watching the trains. And I know I'm not alone because many people like to stand on the pedestrian overpasses and watch the train go under them. There's just something magical and exciting about trains!
Do you have the money to pay for that Scott? REmember all the folks whining and moaning aobut the Seattle Light rail routing....will there be any less for heavy freight rail?
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GET REAL SCOTT!!!
glad none of the train crew were injured.
Wow, some people are a few fries short of a happy meal to go on private property, and get hit by a train.Â
Trains travel very predictable routes on pre-laid TRACKS. This is one of the simplest forms of natural selection and survival of the fittest. You don't have to be very smart to be above the bar people who die on train tracks set.
Expect a train on ANY track, at ANY time, in Either direction. Remember that railroad tracks are private property and to cross them at anywhere but an approved crossing, or to walk on/along them at ANY time is tresspassing.
STOP! LOOK!! LISTEN!!! LIVE!!!!
The freight train must have been stoned..
There is something about the headline that cracks me up - it indirectly implies the freight train went crazy, went out and hit someone. "Freight train strikes, kills person".
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The freight train was minding its own business...the person is the one who picked the fight.
Weren't people taught as a kid not to play on the road and train tracks? Look both ways? Sorry that a person died but get off of the tracks.
@Thepriest Darwin strikes again...
 @Thepriest No kidding.