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The Thurston County Coroner’s Office has identified a man killed Friday afternoon near Tenino by a train as Gary F. Mann, 41, a transient.
At 3:52 p.m. on Friday, an Amtrak engineer reported his train struck a pedestrian who stepped onto the track south of Tenino. The train, which had 238 passengers on board, was heading southbound, according to the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office.
Mann was killed by blunt-force trauma, said Thurston County Coroner Gary Warnock.
His manner of death is still under investigation. Investigators are working to determine whether Mann’s death was accidental, or if he stepped out in front of the train on purpose, Warnock said.
“We’d like to see some video Amtrak has,” he said. “The engineer said he witnessed the individual … step out from between two boxcars.”
Investigators from Amtrak and BNSF Railway responded to assist the Thurston County Sheriff’s Office.
The train was traveling approximately 60 miles per hour when Mann stepped onto the tracks. He was struck and killed instantly before the engineer had time to use the train’s horn or brakes, according to the Sheriff’s Office.
