Man Killed by Train in Act of Suicide

A man killed when he was hit by an Amtrak passenger train Friday intended to commit suicide, according to police.

Frederick Rogo, 32, ran onto the tracks as the train sped toward him, according to a statement by Simi Valley police.

The Simi Valley resident died about 10:10 a.m. near the intersection of Los Angeles Avenue and Erringer Road. The northbound train was traveling about 70 mph.

The train, which left San Diego about 6 a.m. Friday, was headed toward Goleta with 197 passengers, Amtrak spokesman Ivan Rushing said.

It was delayed more than three hours.

The death Friday was the fifth train-related fatality in Ventura County this year.

Last month, Rodney Allen McCarty of Oxnard was killed after an Amtrak train broadsided his big-rig truck at an unguarded crossing at Hitch Boulevard near Moorpark.

Friday’s fatality occurred less than a mile from where another man took his life in April after jumping in front of an Amtrak passenger train.

Amtrak also investigated Friday’s fatality.

“These incidents are tragic, but there’s very little that a conductor can do to prevent them,” Rushing said.

“A train cannot swerve out of the way, and when they’re going 60 or 70 mph, they take about a mile to stop.”