VENTURA : Oxnard Man Hit by Train Is Listed as Critical

A 71-year-old man was critically injured Wednesday when he was struck by a train in Ventura near the spot where he was found lying on a freeway shoulder the day before, authorities said.

LeRoy McClary, who lives in Oxnard, was stretched out with his head resting on the Southern-Pacific railroad tracks near California Street when he apparently was hit by the outer edge of a train wheel about 11:15 a.m., police said.

Ventura Police Officer Russ Robinson said he found McClary semiconscious and bleeding from a five- to seven-inch cut on his head. Beside him lay a gym bag full of clothing.

“He moved a little and at one point he tried to say something, but it was unintelligible,” Robinson said.

An engineer on the train told police it was too late to stop by the time McClary was spotted beside the tracks in a shady area under a freeway entrance.

McClary was taken to the Ventura County Medical Center where he was listed in critical condition with multiple injuries late Wednesday. Ventura City Fire Capt. Paul Masiel said McClary underwent brain scans to determine the extent of his head wound.

On Tuesday, just before 2 p.m., a Highway Patrol officer found McClary lying in the shoulder of the southbound Ventura Freeway near the California Street underpass. A CHP officer took the man back to a CHP station where he was picked up by someone from the Oxnard group home where he lives, said Ventura Police Lt. Don Arth.