Crews cut through fence to reach fatal train-strike victim on new route through Lakewood
A person was struck and killed by an Amtrak passenger train Saturday evening on the new Point Defiance Bypass route in Lakewood, according to fire officials and Amtrak.
West Pierce Fire & Rescue spokesperson Jenny Weekes said the person was either walking or sitting on the tracks when they were struck by the Coast Starlight, a passenger train that makes one north-bound and one south-bound trip a day between Seattle and Los Angeles.
Somebody on the north-bound train, which stopped, notified authorities, Weekes said.
The incident occurred around 6:50 p.m. in an area of tracks between the Gravelly Lake and Thorne Lane exits on Interstate 5. First responders were forced to cut a hole in a fence to reach the site.
The victim was pronounced dead at the scene. Amtrak police are investigating the death.
“There were no injuries to the 227 passengers on board or crew members,” said Amtrak spokesperson Olivia Irvin.
Amtrak switched over to the new bypass through Lakewood in November, almost four years after a derailment killed three passengers on an Amtrak Cascades train on the route’s opening day.
The train in Saturday’s incident was delayed just over four hours and also created a one hour and 29 minute delay to Amtrak Cascades train 508.
Information on the victim has been requested from the Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office. A spokesperson for Lakewood police said they assisted on the incident but did not have any information and referred queries to Amtrak.
This story was originally published January 4, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
