A motorcyclist was killed late Monday morning after colliding with a train in Auburn, according to police. The crash happened around 11:50 a.m. near the intersection of West Main Street and C Street SW, close to Auburn Station, and witnesses told officers the rider had gone past lowered railroad crossing arms just before being struck.
Auburn police and traffic officers responded to the scene after receiving reports of the collision just before noon Monday, according to The Seattle Times. By the time officers arrived, the motorcyclist was already dead, according to KOMO News. The station reported that witnesses said the motorcyclist rode past the lowered crossing arms before the train hit him.
As of Monday afternoon, the victim’s identity had not been released, according to FOX 13 Seattle. The station reported that police said the crash occurred around 11:50 a.m. at the intersection of West Main Street and C Street SW. Police said the investigation into exactly how the collision unfolded remains ongoing, per the earlier KOMO report.
Street Closure Snarls Traffic Near Auburn Station
West Main Street between C Street NW and B Street NW remained closed while officials investigated the collision, Auburn police said. The closure stretched through the section of road running past Auburn Station, a stretch regularly used by commuters and local traffic. The same station report noted the closure extended between those two cross streets as police continued their work at the scene.
No further detail has been released on when the roadway might reopen, and investigators have not indicated what led the rider to proceed past the lowered arms. Auburn police have not released additional specifics about the train involved or the circumstances immediately preceding the impact.
A Pattern Seen Elsewhere in the Region
Collisions between motorcyclists and trains at crossings with lowered arms are not unique to Auburn. In San Leandro, California, police said members of a large motorcycle group — estimated at CBS News to number at least 100 riders — lifted railroad crossing arms to let riders through before one rider and his adult female passenger were struck by an Amtrak train; the passenger was pronounced dead at the scene.
Nationally, railroads are required to report every impact between on-track equipment and highway users at grade crossings to the Federal Railroad Administration using Form FRA F 6180.57, according to federal transportation data. That reporting requirement underscores how crossing-arm violations remain a recurring hazard tracked across the country, even as the specifics of Monday’s fatal crash in Auburn remain under investigation.
