CMPD Probe Underway After Fatal Light Rail Train Crash

CHARLOTTE, NC — A police investigation is underway in south Charlotte after a 27-year-old man was killed when a Charlotte Area Transit System light rail train struck his pickup truck Monday evening.

The collision occurred shortly before 10 p.m. in the 700 block of East Hebron Street, according to Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department.

According to a police account of the accident, Baltazar Tiquiram Us, 27, was pronounced dead at the scene. A front seat passenger in the 2017 Toyota Tundra he was driving was transported to an area hospital for treatment of serious injuries.

The Blue Line train had four passengers on board, but none were injured in the collision, CMPD said.

A preliminary investigation indicated that the Toyota drove around the crossing arms and into the path of the train as it traveled southbound, passing East Hebron Street.

"The train operator sounded the horn while it was approaching the crossing, and the crossing arms’ warning lights were operational and flashing. Impairment is suspected for the driver of the Toyota, and toxicology results are pending," CMPD said.