Man sleeping by railroad tracks hit, killed by train in Volusia County, sheriff's office says
Crime Scene File Photo.
DELEON SPRINGS, Fla. - A man sleeping on the side of some railroad tracks in Volusia County was killed Sunday night when he was struck by a passing train, according to the Volusia County Sheriff's Office.
Deputies arrived at the scene at Dawson Brown Road and U.S. 17 just before 6:30 p.m. They say the victim, 55-year-old Matthew Bryan Owens, was hit by a passenger train. He was pronounced dead on scene.
Detectives learned that Owens had been walking northbound along the tracks with his girlfriend when he stopped to take a break while she kept walking to a meeting place.
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"The train’s video system showed Owens lying against the tracks, apparently asleep and failing to respond to the train’s horn before the collision," the sheriff's office said in a press release.
The Amtrak train was carrying about 500 passengers at the time of the crash.
The sheriff's office says there were no signs of impairment observed during the initial investigation.