A Chiloquin man was hit and killed by a southbound Amtrak train the day after Christmas.
Police are still uncertain exactly what happened prior to the fatal accident.
Police say the accident happened shortly after nine on the evening of December 26th.
The deceased has been identified as 21 year old Monnie Mann Weeks, Jr.
The accident took place on a stretch of track not far from downtown Chiloquin.
Chief Deputy Marty Rowley of the Klamath County Sheriff’s Office says the train did make an effort to stop…
“Absolutely. They went into emergency stop mode, and they were unable to stop the train in time to avoid Mr. Weeks.”
It’s still unclear what happened just prior to the accident.
Police say that Weeks had been drinking, and possibly horsing around with others near the tracks.
“There were several people in the area at the time, Mr. Weeks was with, one of them was his brother.” Notes Chief Deputy Rowley. “And we’re not sure at this point in time the actual chain of events, but it appears that Mr. Weeks was crossing the tracks on his own volition.”
Weeks was thrown from the tracks after he was hit.
Rowley adds that Weeks was taken to Sky Lakes Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead…
“It’s just an extremely tragic event, the day after Christmas.”
The accident happened just 16 days after another fatal train accident in Klamath County.
Two people were killed, and another was injured when their SUV was hit by a freight train about ten miles south of Klamath Falls.
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