June 20, 2013

VRE train kills person on tracks in Fairfax

BY: KYTJA WEIR OCTOBER 10, 2012 | 5:13 PM | MODIFIED: OCTOBER 10, 2012 AT 5:15 PM
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Photo - A VRE train (Examiner file photo)
A VRE train (Examiner file photo)

Updated, 4:40 p.m.: Police are still investigating a case of a man who was killed by a Virginia Railway Express train Wednesday afternoon.

The adult male was struck about 2:10 p.m. near where Fairfax Station Road intersects with Fairfax County Parkway, said Fairfax County Police Officer Shelley Broderick. It was not immediately clear why the man was on the tracks -- or whether the death was accidental or a suicide.

The death prompted VRE to cancel a number of trains and set up bus service for riders. Riders on the train that struck the man were stranded for more than two hours before the train was allowed to move.

Broderick said she expected the track shutdown would continue into the evening as the investigation was still underway.

***

A person was fatally struck by a Virginia Railway Express train Wednesday afternoon, a first for the commuter train service.

The 325 train headed hit a person who was trespassing on the tracks around 2:20 p.m. near Fairfax Station, said VRE spokesman Mark Roeber.

Fairfax County Police confirmed the person was killed.

The incident has caused a shutdown of the Manassas Line for much of the remainder of the afternoon. The service is setting up bus service to shuttle riders instead, Roeber said.

kweir@washingtonexaminer.com

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Kytja Weir

Staff Writer - Transportation
The Washington Examiner

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