A freight train fatally struck a man lying on the tracks late at night over the weekend in Moorhead, authorities said.
The incident occurred about 2:15 a.m. Saturday just north of J.C. Chumley's bar and restaurant on Main Avenue, according to police.
The man, identified by city officials Sunday night as Robert Louis Vilas, 60, of Moorhead, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police said they believe the man was stationary on the tracks at the time he was hit by the BNSF train.
BNSF spokeswoman Amy McBeth said Sunday that the man was "lying on the railroad tracks, not at a crossing" when the eastbound train hit him. The train was carrying freight, McBeth added.
Authorities have not learned why the man was on the tracks.
Results of an autopsy in the Twin Cities are pending.
Paul Walsh
