MOBILE, Ala. (WPMI) Mobile Police say a young man is dead after being hit by a train.
It happened around 1 p.m. Friday near Howells Ferry Road and Withers Avenue.
Police say the man was walking on the tracks collecting scrap metal when it happened.
Local 15 is waiting to release the man's name because police are still working to contact his next of kin.
But the people he lived with here in Mobile on Withers Avenue considered him family. They tell Local 15 the victim is originally from California and just moved here a few months ago.
Friday he was collecting scrap metal on the tracks that run behind his house. He had headphones on and was listening to music when he was hit and killed by a train.
The train conductor told officials he blew the horn several times, but the man didn't hear the warnings.
He died on the scene.
"He was a sweetheart. 26-years-old. In the Army National Guard Reserve Unit. He just loved life. And it's just such a tragic ending," said Kathy Lee, who knew the victim and considered him her "adopted nephew."
This comes just a few weeks after three young people were killed in a train accident downtown at CSX rail yard.
