A man wearing a UPS uniform and earmuffs who walked onto train tracks was killed by an Amtrak train in Lorton on Tuesday.
The Amtrak engineer blew a warning whistle and tried to stop the train, but the man didn’t turn around until it was too late.
The accident occurred around 11:35 a.m., according to Amtrak, but it caused train delays that extended into the evening rush hour, including on Virginia Railway Express commuter trains that ran from Washington to Fredericksburg.
The 79-car Amtrak train, the Carolinian, was headed from New York to Charlotte, N.C., when the train operator spotted a man standing next to the tracks near the intersection of Lorton Road and Gunston Cove Road, according to Fairfax County police.
The train was near the Lorton Virginia Railway Express station, but because it wasn’t stopping there, it could have been traveling full speed. The speed limit on that section of the track is 70 mph, Amtrak spokeswoman Karina Romero said.
The engineer blew the train’s horn, police said, yet the man apparently stepped onto the tracks with his back to the train.
The train’s engineer activated emergency equipment and tried to stop the train, police said. The man apparently turned around just before he was struck.
None of the 108 passengers aboard the train were injured, Romero said. The train, though, was held at the station until about 1:40 p.m. as authorities investigated the accident. Other trains were routed to another track at a slower speed as the investigation continued.
VRE trains still faced delays up to 35 minutes Tuesday evening.
Romero called the man a trespasser, meaning he wasn’t supposed to be there.
Police were still trying to identify the man late Tuesday afternoon. They said he was a black man in his 50s who was wearing a UPS uniform, including a sweater and black sweatpants. He was wearing earmuffs.
Amtrak, local police and CSX, which owns the tracks, are investigating the accident.
