RICHMOND HILL, GA. (THECOUNT) — Steven Vega Maldonado has been identified as the man struck and killed by a train in Richmond Hill on Sunday, reports the Richmond Hill Police Department.
According to the conductor of the CSX train, Maldonado, 20, was spotted walking along the tracks near the US-17 overpass in Richmond Hill, GA on Sunday. The conductor said he became increasingly concerned after noticing the man wearing earbuds.
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The conductor then sounded the horn for a long period of time, however, Maldonado did not respond and continued to walk along the tracks, at which time the emergency brakes were applied, but it was too late for the train to come to a stop.
Maldonado was pronounced dead at the scene of blunt force trauma injuries as a result of the collision.
Officials said they are looking into leads to see why Vega Maldonado was at the tracks.
The conductor of the CSX train that hit him said he saw the man walking on the tracks and he applied his horn for a long period of time. The man didn’t respond to the horn, so the conductor hit his breaks, but wasn’t able to stop in time. The conductor also said he appeared to be wearing earbuds. Richmond Hill police said they found earbuds on his person during the investigation. source
Lieutenant Brad Sykes with the Richmond Hill police department said it is very important to stay away from train tracks.
“It’s extremely dangerous to be in the area of trains because the trains are so heavy it can take them up to a mile to come to a complete stop. They can’t react quickly so it’s up to us to not get in there way,” said Sykes.
Richmond Hill is doing a joint investigation with CSX and it is still ongoing.
An autopsy was performed, but the results have not come back yet.
Anyone with possible information on the death should contact police at 911.