Man struck, killed by Amtrak train in Centralia

Published 1:37 pm Thursday, April 2, 2015

CENTRALIA — A BNSF Railway spokesman says a man has been struck and killed by an Amtrak train in Centralia.

Spokesman Gus Melonas says the man was in a non-crossing area within a BNSF switching yard when he was hit by a southbound train just before noon Thursday.

The Centralia Chronicle reported that Centralia police and the railway are investigating.

Police spokesman Kurt Reichert says the middle-aged man was walking with his back to the approaching southbound train when he was hit.

The accident stopped both passenger and freight train traffic between Seattle and Portland for more than an hour.