Man found dead after being hit by train in SLO

Update: Thursday, 9:30 a.m.

The man has been identified as Christopher Hackmann, 37, of San Luis Obispo. Keep up with this developing story here.

Original post:

A man who was seen lying on the railroad tracks Wednesday morning in San Luis Obispo was found dead after he was struck by a train, police said.

Officers were dispatched about 10:25 a.m. to an underpass near the intersection of Mill and Pepper streets.

The train engineer told police that he saw a man lying on the tracks but was unable to stop the train before it struck him, said Capt. Chris Staley of the San Luis Obispo Police Department.

When officers arrived, they found the man — thought to be in his mid-thirties — lying near the tracks with part of his body under the stopped train, according to a department news release.

Emergency personnel pronounced the man dead at the scene. Authorities are not releasing the man’s name pending notification of his family.

Guillermo Trejo lives a couple of doors down from the underpass and said he heard the train come to a sudden stop after the incident. Trejo said he usually hears the train horn, but he didn’t hear it sound on Wednesday.

After he heard the train stop, Trejo went to investigate and saw the man’s body. “It’s gruesome,” he said.

Staley said it’s unclear whether the man was dead prior to being struck by the train. Police and the San Luis Obispo County Coroner’s

Office continue to investigate the circumstances that led to the man’s death. No foul play is suspected at this time.

Anyone with information about the incident is encouraged to call the San Luis Obispo Police Department at 805-781-7317.

The train remained stopped after the incident to allow authorities to investigate. As a result, the intersection of Foothill and California boulevards remained closed for around three hours Wednesday. The intersection was reopened about 1:45 p.m.

This story was originally published August 29, 2018 at 12:04 PM.