Bicyclist hit, killed by LRT

By Tom Ford, Star Tribune

Last update: August 7, 2006 - 11:45 PM

A man was struck and killed by a light-rail train about 5 p.m. Monday when he was bicycling south on the sidewalk along Hiawatha Avenue in south Minneapolis and tried to cross over the light-rail tracks diagonally at E. 46th Street.

The train was southbound after leaving the 46th Street station. The bicyclist was trying to get to a sidewalk on the other side of the tracks, officials said.

It's unclear if the man -- whose name is expected to be released today -- didn't see the train or was trying to beat it, Metro Transit spokesman Bob Gibbons said. The man was believed to be in his 30s.

The operator of the train did see the bicyclist, though Gibbons said he was not sure how close the bicyclist was to the train at that point or what the operator tried to do to stop. He guessed that the train was going about 20 to 25 miles per hour at the time.

Initial indications are that the stop arms and other safety measures to alert people to an approaching train were working, he said.

Information about the operator was not released Monday. A drug and alcohol test of the operator was taken, which is a standard procedure in such incidents, Gibbons said.

The two-car train that struck the man had about 130 people aboard, he said. No one reported being injured, he said.

They remained on the train for more than an hour to give investigators time to interview witnesses, and also to allow another train to come and take them to their destinations.

The collision caused train service between the Franklin Avenue and Fort Snelling stations to be stopped for nearly two hours after the accident.

Buses were used in place of the light rail during that time, though progress was slow as many buses were in the thick of rush-hour traffic.

This was the third fatality involving light-rail trains since they began service in June 2004. One was a pedestrian and the other was the driver of a vehicle.

Gibbons said Monday's collision was the first serious incident at that intersection.

Tom Ford • 612-673-4921