SIMI VALLEY : Man Run Over by Freight Train Dies
A 32-year-old Simi Valley man died early Wednesday after he lay down between a set of railroad tracks along Los Angeles Avenue and was run over by a freight train, authorities said.
Southern Pacific engineers spotted a dark object on the tracks seconds before hitting Richard Smith’s body, but could not stop the train in time.
Senior Deputy Coroner Craig Stevens said Smith was wearing a long, black overcoat, making it even more difficult to see him in the dark.
The accident occurred about 2:40 a.m. near the 2000 block of Los Angeles Avenue just west of Erringer Road. Police said Smith suffered major head trauma and died almost instantly.
Authorities said they did not know why Smith was lying on the tracks. Stevens said the man’s body smelled of alcohol, but there was nothing to indicate he intended to commit suicide. The death will likely be ruled an accident, he said.
“I have nothing to tell me he was despondent enough to commit suicide,” Stevens said.
“It could very well have been, but I don’t have anything to conclude that.”
Smith was unemployed and had been living on Simi Valley streets or in homeless shelters in recent years, Stevens said.
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