MORGAN HILL
– A Morgan Hill man was killed at 6:18 p.m. Thursday when struck
by a southbound commuter train just east of the Monterey Road
overcrossing.
MORGAN HILL – A Morgan Hill man was killed at 6:18 p.m. Thursday when struck by a southbound commuter train just east of the Monterey Road overcrossing.
Sgt. Dave Myers of the Morgan Hill Police Department said the death appears to be a suicide.
The Santa Clara County Coroner’s office said an official cause of death will not be announced until an autopsy is completed later today.
Two eyewitnesses told CalTrain investigators that the man placed his head on the tracks as the train approached. The train’s engineer initiated an emergency stop but the train could not stop in time.
The man was identified as Earl Leahy, 48, of Morgan Hill. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Train service to Morgan Hill and Gilroy was shut down until after 8 p.m., according to Jayme Kunz, CalTrain’s public information officer. Passengers were bused to stations in San Martin and Gilroy by the Valley Transit Authority.
Fewer than 75 riders were still on the train as it approached the Morgan Hill station, due in at 6:11 p.m. The train sat on the tracks near the accident site for an hour and a half, Kunz said.
