Man’s Suicide in Path of Train Closes Avenue

Vineyard Avenue was closed at Oxnard Boulevard for 1 1/2 hours during Monday morning rush hour after a 52-year-old transient committed suicide by walking in front of a freight train, authorities said.

The major thoroughfare was shut down during the investigation into the 6:30 a.m. death of John Howard Blum, said Joe Kaniewskic, a traffic investigator with the Oxnard Police Department. Blum was pronounced dead at the scene.

Blum had lived on the streets of Oxnard for more than 20 years, said Senior Deputy Coroner Craig Stevens with the Ventura County Medical Examiner’s Office.

A handwritten note found on Blum’s body indicated he had long considered suicide, Stevens said. The man had a history of psychological problems.

Witnesses said Blum simply walked with his head down into the path of the Los Angeles-bound freight train, which could not stop in time, Kaniewskic said.