Train Kills 98-Year-Old on Sun Valley Tracks

A98-year-old Pacoima man sitting on the tracks at a railroad crossing was killed Thursday night when hit by a train, authorities said.

A Los Angeles Police Department spokesman said Frank Reyes was run over by a Southern Pacific engine at 9 p.m. at the intersection of Branford Street and San Fernando Road in Sun Valley.

Sgt. Louis Page said the train’s brakeman told police that Reyes made no effort to move off the tracks. He said police were investigating the possibility of suicide.

But Reyes’ granddaughter, Sara Reyes, said her grandfather was partly senile and hard of hearing. She said he took regular nighttime walks in the neighborhood and that he may have tripped at the intersection. She said her grandfather had shown no signs of depression.

Page said the brakeman tried to stop the train before it hit Reyes.