SOUTH SALT LAKE, Utah, July 24, 2018 (Gephardt Daily) — Another person has been struck and killed by a Utah Transit Authority train, this time on Monday night near 210 W. 3300 South.
Why the individual was on the tracks at all is something that will be part of the investigation, Carl Arky, UTA spokesperson, told reporters.
Arky said the fatal accident happened at about 9:45 p.m. on the Trax red line.
The victim was standing or walking on the tracks, and was struck by a northbound Trax train.
“The person was about 500 yards down from the crossing,” Arky said, “so technically, it was a trespasser on the tracks.”
Being that far from the crossing, a lack of light may have played a part in the incident as well.
“It’s a very, very dark stretch of track, and very hard to see,” Arky said.
It’s still early in the investigation, and it isn’t yet known whether the victim was wearing a headset or was otherwise distracted, but Arky said it’s a possibility.
“People need to remember to take the headsets off, take the earbuds out. You need to be aware of your surroundings,” he said.
The victim’s age appears to be mid-30s, Arky said, but the identity wasn’t yet known nor was the person’s gender.
“We’re waiting for the (Medical Examiner) to confirm all that,” he said.
In other recent incidents, a bicyclist died Thursday night after being struck by a UTA FrontRunner train in Salt Lake City. The victim was one of hundreds who took part in the weekly 999 Ride, a popular nighttime bike ride organized on social media.
In that accident, large groups of cyclists had just crossed the tracks after the passing of a Union Pacific train. A minute later, while warning signs still flashed, a FrontRunner train approached the crossing.
“The arm was down, lights were flashing, bells were sounding,” Arky said afterward, but instead of waiting for FrontRunner to pass, the victim attempted to beat the train.
And on the afternoon of June 16, a man was struck and killed by a FrontRunner train on the tracks under the overpass at 5600 South in Roy. It is unknown if the man was on the tracks as the train approached or if he stepped into the way.
That was another case of trespassing, because the man should not have been on the tracks in that area, Arky said in a news conference later that day.
Gephardt Daily will update this developing story as more information becomes available.
