BNSF: Man struck, killed by freight train in Bellingham

Published 8:05 pm Wednesday, May 13, 2015

BELLINGHAM — A Burlington Northern Santa Fe spokesman says a man hit by a freight train in Bellingham has died.

BNSF spokesman Gus Melonas says witnesses reported the man had headphones on as he walked along the side of tracks near the F Street crossing. He was struck late Wednesday afternoon and rushed to a hospital. Melonas says he later died.

Bellingham police Officer L.L. Leake told The Bellingham Herald the man was in his early 30s. He was not immediately identified.

Melonas says the train crew blew the whistle and applied the emergency brake. He says the train was traveling about 35 mph.

The spokesman said it was the 11th fatality on BNSF tracks in Washington state so far in 2015.