A person was struck and killed by a Union Pacific Railroad freight train late Thursday night, train officials say.
A train struck a person who jumped onto the tracks shortly before the train passed near Louisiana Boulevard at 10:50 a.m., said Mark Davis, spokesman for Union Pacific.
The identity, age and sex of the victim has not been released.
The accident victim was pronounced dead at 2 a.m. Friday, Davis said. It’s unclear why the person climbed onto the tracks, he said. The Denver coroner will determine the cause of death, he said.
“It’s tragic,” Davis said. “We had an engineer trainee on board. We offered counseling to the three crew members.”
The train with 41 cars and three locomotives was leaving Denver and headed to Pueblo carrying grain, scrap metal, lumber and lime, he said.
Davis said that there has been an increase in the number of people going on tracks including professional photographers taking pictures of clients on tracks.
“If you are on train tracks you are trespassing,” he said. “We’re seeing an alarming amount of people taking their pictures on tracks.”
Kirk Mitchell: 303-954-1206, or
