SIMI VALLEY : Man, 44, Killed by Passing Train

A Van Nuys man was struck and killed by a westbound train as he lay on the tracks in a tunnel in the Simi Hills near the Santa Susana Pass, Ventura County authorities reported Friday.

The body of the 44-year-old white male, whose name was withheld until relatives could be notified, was discovered five to seven hours after the incident when a crew member on an eastbound train spotted the body and called the sheriff’s office at 4:17 a.m. Thursday, authorities said.

The official cause of death was traumatic amputation of the legs, said Mitchael Breese, deputy coroner’s investigator. He said the death was being classified as accidental.

The man had likely been drinking, said Lt. Bill Montijo at the East County sheriff’s station near Simi Valley.

Beer cans were found nearby, and it looked as if the man had been living in the area, Breese said.

“It’s very possible he fell or stumbled and then lay on the tracks because of his condition, but we won’t know whether he was drinking until we get the toxicology reports,” Breese said.

No documents were found on the body, but the man was identified through his fingerprints registered with the California computer identification system, Breese said.

Breese said the man was probably killed by a freight train that passed through the area about 11 p.m. But an Amtrak train also traveled the same tracks after 9 p.m. Breese said he could not be certain which train struck the man.