SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Sept. 10, 2018 (Gephardt Daily) — A young man died Sunday night when he was struck by a Trax train in a very dark, unpopulated area near Salt Lake City International Airport.
Carl Arky, spokesman for Utah Transit Authority, told Gephardt Daily the incident happened at about 9:45 p.m. as a westbound green line train was heading for the airport.
“At approximately 2400 West, there was a trespasser in the alignment,” Arky said. “The operator did not see the trespasser, but he did hear something and was alarmed.”
The operator brought the train to a halt and called in to report the incident.
“UTA medical and UTA police responded,” Arky said. “Unfortunately, there was a 25-year-old male killed in the incident.”
Arky said it’s still very early in the investigation and it isn’t known why the man was in the alignment.
He described the area as “a very dark, dark stretch of track. Far away from any housing of any type. It’s not an area where anyone operating the Trax train would anticipate anyone being near the track.”
The westbound train was about to pass an eastbound train, and the operator of the eastbound train saw the man and blew the horn to try to alert him and the westbound train’s operator.
Arky said, “There is nothing in the area except the airport runway, and not a lot of people, not much traffic, so the trains tend to run a little faster.” He said there was no way the train could have stopped in time.
About 10 passengers were on the train, but none of them were injured.
Arky said UTA will provide counseling for the passengers and the operators of the trains involved in this traumatic event.
The passengers from the train were quickly taken to SLC International, and UTA then set up a bus bridge to the airport.
Arky said the medical examiner was en route to the scene. He expected the area to be closed for a couple of hours as the investigation proceeded. He added that the police will look at all available video of the area.
Arky also expressed condolences to all the friends and family of the deceased man on behalf of himself and Utah Transit Authority.
