SALT LAKE CITY, Utah, Aug. 3, 2016 (Gephardt Daily) — Crews are responding to an accident involving a TRAX train and a pedestrian in downtown Salt Lake City, according to officials.
The accident occurred at 5 p.m. near 400 S. State St., and the Salt Lake City Police Department confirmed there is one fatality.
Sgt. Brandon Shearer from the SLCPD said the TRAX train was driving eastbound on 400 South in between State Street and 200 East.
“At some point a male got in front of the train and was struck and killed by the train,” said Shearer. “It is in between intersections, and there is a short cement barricade on both sides of the TRAX at this location.”
The victim is an adult male, but his age is unknown at this time. Shearer said the train was fairly full of people, some of whom were witnesses, and there were also a couple of witnesses on the street who observed what happened. Police will be talking to witnesses to determine what exactly occurred.
Shearer said it would take some time to clear the scene, so train services are completely stopped in that area.
He added that traffic had been reduced to one lane in both directions on 400 South, so people are asked to avoid the area if at all possible. It may take until 9 p.m. to clear the area.
The Utah Transit Authority tweeted that a bus bridge has been set up for Red Line passengers between the downtown library and courthouse. UTA added that Red Line passengers will need to use Blue or Green Line trains between the court house and 2100 South.
Gephardt Daily will have more on this developing story as information becomes available.
