CSX Train Hits, Kills Man, 34, In Lakeland

LAKELAND, FL — The Lakeland Police Department is investigating a fatal Wednesday afternoon crash involving a pedestrian and a train.

According to the agency, police were called out to the area of Tennessee Avenue and Main Street in downtown just before 2 p.m. April 5. Witnesses to the crash told officers that Eric John Velazquez, 34, walked from the Munn Park area over to the train tracks.

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Velazquez then “appeared to intentionally lean forward into a passing CSX freight train and was hit,” a media release posted on the police department's Facebook page said.

Velazquez was transported to Lakeland Regional Health, but died from his injuries shortly after 2:30 p.m., the police department said.

The crash remains under investigation.

Further information is not yet available.

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