Man, 39, Hit by Train Dies
A 39-year-old Sylmar man was struck by a train and killed over the weekend when he failed to move off the tracks despite repeated blasts from the train’s horn, police said.
Robert Vargas was sitting on the tracks at San Fernando Road near Polk Street in Sylmar just before midnight Saturday when a northbound Southern Pacific train approached at 50 m.p.h., Los Angeles Police Sgt. Ken Roth said.
The conductor told police that he blew the warning horn several times and that Vargas got up and started to move away, but too slowly. Vargas was hit a glancing blow by the left side of the train and killed, Roth said.
The conductor told police that he could not stop the train in time to avoid the accident.
The coroner’s office is investigating the death. Roth said blood-alcohol tests may be performed to determine if the victim was intoxicated at the time of his death.
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