Man Killed by Train Identified

Authorities Tuesday identified a man struck and killed by a freight train in Oxnard the day before as 44-year-old Ramiro Espinoza Gil, a transient with ties to the Ontario-Upland area.

Gil was identified through his fingerprints, said Craig Stevens, senior deputy coroner with the Ventura County medical examiner’s office. Investigators have been unable to contact members of his family and are asking the public for help.

An undocumented alien, Gil had been in the country at least nine years judging by a 1987 citation for public drunkenness he was carrying, Stevens said. Gil also had at least four similar citations over the years in the Inland Empire.

Investigators have ruled Gil’s death an accident.

“Our belief is from the witnesses who saw this that he may have been intoxicated and laid down by the side of the track to watch the train roll by,” Stevens said.

Gil suffered fatal head injuries when he was struck by the train’s wheel frame. He was described as clean-shaven, 5 feet 2, 108 pounds with black hair and brown eyes. Anyone with information is asked to call 641-4400.