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WEST VALLEY CITY —A bicyclist who apparently fell off a TRAX platform and underneath a train as it was departing, was killed Monday morning.
Just before 7 a.m., West Valley police say a man was run over and killed by a westbound TRAX train that was just leaving the platform at 1740 West Research Way (2770 South).
"An adult male somehow fell underneath the train," said West Valley Police Sgt. Mike Powell.
"I've never seen anything like this in real life," said witness Ryan Cameron. "I saw his legs sticking up between the car and the platform."
Cameron says he was riding this UTA TRAX train into West Valley City this morning when an older man realized he was on the wrong train. Cameron says the man was frustrated, grabbed his bike and got off at the next stop.
- 7 have involved pedestrians.
- There have been 5 fatal pedestrian crashes.
- There have been 8 accidents (pedestrian and car) since August.
- These new trains have accounted for 4 of the TRAX accidents this year, all since July.
- These trains do accelerate a little differently.
- UTA says it's unclear whether or how the new trains are affecting the number of accidents.
Cameron says as the train began to take off after everyone had gotten off the train, the man became tangled in the wheels of the train. He doesn't know how he got there, but he says everything happened quickly.
"I screamed out ‘He's under the train,' and the train went a little further and stopped, and he was just lying there dead," he said.
"The train operator became aware that there was an incident very quickly, he stopped as quickly as he could and immediately notified our control and police department," said Gary Carpenter, UTA spokesperson.
A bicycle believed to belong to the victim was found undamaged on the platform, he said.
The man's name was not immediately available. West Valley City are still in the process of identifying this man and notifying his family of the accident. Once that is done, his name will be released.
Powell cautioned all TRAX riders to stay behind the yellow tape at the edge of each TRAX station and to, "Be aware of your surroundings. Avoid distractions - wearing headphones with loud music, talking on the phone, texting - be aware of what's going on."
Monday's incident marks the 11th accident involving a TRAX train in 2011 and the seventh involving a pedestrian or cyclist. It also marks the fifth fatality this year.
A bus bridge was set up for passengers traveling on the Green Line to get around the accident. Riders were warned to expect delays Monday morning
Why have there been so many accidents this year?
UTA says of the 11 accidents involving TRAX trains this year, this is the fifth one where someone has died.
UTA is looking for answers to why there have been so many TRAX accidents this year - 11 total and eight since August.
They say it's premature to draw a correlation, but volume has certainly gone up along the main line since August when the Mid-Jordan and West Valley lines came on line. Sarpenter says that does mean more opportunity for collisions.
"Certainly our trains are interacting more and more with motorists and pedestrians across the whole valley and there is more potential. At the same time, it also means people need to be more aware."
Before, trains passed every 7 to 10 minutes. Now it's every 5 to 7 minutes. From 2100 south to the courthouse, it's every 3 to 5 minutes. UTA says it continues to evaluate safety issues.
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Written by Pat Reavy with contributions from Andrew Adams and Shara Park.
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