2 Railroad Tracks Fatalities Reported Over 2 Days In Riverside County

RIVERSIDE, CA — An investigation was underway Wednesday into the death of a 22-year-old man struck and killed by a Metrolink commuter train near downtown Riverside. It was the second railroad tracks fatality in two days.

Samuel Lissy of Riverside was fatally injured at about 5:20 p.m. Monday when he was hit while walking along or across Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad tracks less than a quarter mile west of Palmyrita Avenue, near Iowa Avenue, according to the Riverside Police Department.

"There doesn't seem to be anything suspicious, but the cause is undetermined at this time," agency spokesman Officer Ryan Railsback told City News Service.

He said that no one aboard the commuter train, which immediately stopped, was injured.

Paramedics pronounced Lissy dead at the scene.

The tracks were shut down for more than an hour due to the fatality.

It was the second railroad fatality in Riverside County in just two days.

Jose Castillo, 46, was fatally struck by an Amtrak train Saturday evening in the community of Highgrove, east of Riverside.

The Riverside man was hit at 7:30 p.m. on the tracks just east of 1200 Springs Street, according to the Riverside County Sheriff-Coroner's Bureau. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

It's unclear why Castillo was on the tracks.

The investigation was being handled by the Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad, according to the California Highway Patrol.