A 55-year-old male pedestrian was killed in a train accident Sunday afternoon in Dunkirk. The victim has not yet been identified pending notification of the next of kin.
At 4:14 p.m., the Dunkirk Police Department and the Dunkirk Fire Depart-ment responded to Main Street at the Norfolk Southern Railroad crossing near Fieldbrook Farms.
According to a release prepared by Sergeant Christopher Witkowski, it is known that the subject was walking west near the Main Street railroad crossing near the tracks and was struck by a westbound train.
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OBSERVER Staff photo by Diane R. Chodan
Dunkirk Police and Fire Department responded Sunday afternoon to Main Street at the Norfolk Southern Railroad crossing. A pedestrian was struck by a westbound train at about 4:15 p.m. The unidentified 55-year-old male was pronounced dead at the scene by Chautauqua County Coroner Richard Mackowiak at 4:41 p.m.
It was reported by Police Chief David Ortolano that the victim was about to cross the tracks when the train's engineer spotted him and blew the horn. According to the engineer, the victim never looked and kept walking.
Dunkirk police 3 to 11 p.m. shift, Dunkirk police detectives, Dunkirk Fire Department, Dunkirk police forensic officers, Norfolk Southern police, as well as Dunkirk Police Chief David Ortolano and Chautauqua County Coroner Richard Mackowiak were at the scene and assisted with the investigation.
Mackowiak pronounced the man dead at the scene at 4:41 p.m.
The train blocked traffic through the Fourth Ward in Dunkirk all the way to South Roberts Road. Chautauqua County Fire Police and Dunkirk City Fire Police assisted with traffic control at every train crossing. Traffic was tied up from the time of the accident until about 8:15 p.m.
Comments on this article may be directed to dchodan@observertoday.com
