Photo by Brittany Woolsey.
The man killed after being struck by the Metro Blue Line in Downtown Long Beach on Monday has been identified as 46-year-old Melvin Foster, Jr., officials said.
The death was ruled as accidental and Foster sustained multiple traumatic injuries, said Raul Mount, spokesman for the Los Angeles County Coroner.
Marc Littman of Metro said the circumstances surrounding the death were still under investigation.
“There’s an ongoing investigation with local law enforcement, the sheriff’s department and the coroner’s office,” Littman said. “Video surveillance tapes are being reviewed.”
UPDATE: Man Dies After Being Hit By Metro Blue Line Train
September 8, 6:30PM | Long Beach Post commenter Wil provided a photograph of the man who died today after being trapped between the Metro Blue Line train and the platform at the Pacific Avenue station in the comment section below. Wil also provided the following account:
“I was there and it was pretty gruesome. The man was literally cut in two but was conscious for the 20mins they tried to free him.”
Additional details about the deceased, including his name, as well as details about the events leading up to his death are not available at this time.
This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
3:45PM | A man died after being found between a Metro Blue Line station and a train Monday afternoon, Metro officials said.
Long Beach Fire Department (LBFD) officials arrived to the scene at the Metro Blue Line Pacific Avenue station between 4th and 5th Streets after receiving a call about a person trapped under the Blue Line train car at about 12:15PM, said LBFD spokesman Brian Fisk.
The first units arrived at about 12:20PM to find a middle-aged black male pinned between the Blue Line platform and one of the train cars, Fisk said.
LBFD units were able to extricate the man from under the train in about 20 minutes. The man was then transported to St. Mary’s Hospital for serious injuries and died at the hospital, according to Metro spokesman Luis Inzunza.
“There was contact with the train,” Inzunza said. “We don’t know if it happened on the street level or the platform but we do know the incident occurred while the train was moving.”
Officials are not sure what occurred before the incident or how the man became trapped under the train.
“We’re not sure how he got there, but we’re still taking witness statements,” Fisk said.
As of 3:25PM, Blue Line service between Downtown and Pacific is currently suspended. Metro initially announced the suspension of service around 12:41PM today, via Twitter.
Blue Line passengers are being required to make a cross-platform transfer at Anaheim Street. Long Beach Transit bus service is available from Downtown Long Beach to the Anaheim St. station.
{FG_GEOMAP [33.7717098,-118.18931429999998] FG_GEOMAP}