A MetroLink train was involved in a fatal incident in Midtown, according to a recent report from the St. Louis Metropolitan Police Department (SLMPD) Public Transportation Unit. An adult male, as of yet unidentified, succumbed to injuries after being hit by the train behind the address known as 1 Ikea Way.
Details provided by SLMPD's official report, indicate that the tragic event took place around 6:12 p.m. when officers from District 5 responded to a distressing call of an accident involving a person struck by a train. The responding emergency medical services pronounced the man dead on arrival, unable to reverse the solemnity of a life lost on the tracks.
Following the incident, a comprehensive scene investigation along with the review of video surveillance unpacked the grim timeline: the man approached the eastbound train tracks and there, he positioned himself, laying down, minutes before the train's arrival at roughly 6:01 p.m. The train, despite the operator's efforts—which included sounding the horn and engaging an emergency stop—could not halt in time to avoid the collision. The finalized question that shadows over the incident, as to why the man lay upon the cold steel of the tracks, remains unsolved by the cloak of the ongoing investigation.
The Medical Examiner's Office has since taken custody of the body. As the investigation presses forward to shed light on the circumstances leading up to this sorrowful conclusion.
