An unidentified man was struck and killed by a freight train early Monday morning, March 3 in the area of Harrold Avenue and Santa Fe between Escalon and Riverbank.

Escalon fire and ambulance personnel were dispatched to the scene shortly before 1 a.m., with a report of a train vs. pedestrian accident.

The man, who officials said was killed instantly, was walking in between the rails just north of Harrold when the incident occurred.

Escalon Consolidated Fire Protection District Battalion Chief Terry Pinheiro said there was apparently train traffic going both ways at the time, and both the northbound and southbound trains were in the process of slowing down to make the pass.

“The northbound train struck him, but it was able to stop fairly rapidly because of the slow speed,” Pinheiro said.

It is not known why the man was walking on the tracks. Though the train was able to stop relatively quickly and wasn’t moving at a high rate of speed, the impact killed the man.

Officials with the San Joaquin County Sheriff’s Department had not yet released his identity at press time.

Agencies on the scene included Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway Police, CHP officers, San Joaquin County sheriff’s deputies and the Escalon fire and ambulance crews.