Train Kills Worker at Pedestrian Bridge : Accident: Engineer couldn’t stop in time to avoid hitting cherry picker carrying the man, who was preparing to paint overpass in Buena Park.

A man in a cherry picker working on a pedestrian bridge was fatally injured Saturday by an Amtrak train that clipped the construction lift, knocking him 30 feet to the ground, authorities said.

Police said the victim’s left leg was severed at the knee in the 8:47 a.m. accident, which occurred on the tracks outside Nutrilite Products Inc. The company owns the passenger bridge just east of the 5600 block of Beach Boulevard.

The victim, 22, was taken by helicopter to UCI Medical Center in Orange, where he died about 11 a.m., officers said.

His name was not released pending family notification, but police said he lived in Paramount and worked for Borbon Inc. Painting and Wall Covering Contractor in Buena Park. Company officials were en route to Tijuana, Mexico, to inform the victim’s mother.

Buena Park police Lt. Terry Branum said Nutrilite, a vitamin manufacturer, contracted with Borbon to paint its bridge, which is 30 to 40 feet high and links the company’s buildings on either side of the tracks.

When the accident occurred, Branum said, the victim was preparing the belly of the bridge for painting from a lift extending over the tracks.

The train was en route to Los Angeles from San Diego and traveling at about 70 m.p.h. when police said the engineer spotted the workman about 200 yards away.

Branum said the engineer blasted his horn and applied the brakes, but the train could not stop in time, nor could the man get out of the train’s path.

It was not clear whether the victim had been told to expect the train and when.

Borbon officials could not be reached for comment, and Branum said there had been little or no contact with police.

“You would think someone would be on the lookout so the picker would be retracted in time,” Branum said. “There is not good visibility there because there is a bend (in the track) east of Beach Boulevard that would leave the engineer with only 10 or 15 seconds to react.”

An Amtrak security officer who asked not to be identified said the train did not appear to be traveling at an unusually high rate of speed.

He said the train was delayed 67 minutes at the Buena Park crash site while police conducted their investigation.

The train arrived in Los Angeles about 10:20 a.m.