Body found next to train tracks in East Oakland

Body found next to train tracks in East Oakland

By Sean Maher, Oakland Tribune

Posted: 12/15/2008 07:48:41 AM PST

OAKLAND - Police found the body of a 44-year-old Oakland man who had apparently been struck by a train near tracks in East Oakland Sunday afternoon.

Officers responding about 3:45 p.m. to 98th and Railroad avenues, found the naked body lying next to the Union Pacific Railroad tracks, police said.

Alameda County Coroner's officials were able to identify the man through a fingerprint match to criminal records, said Deputy Ronnie Kaho'ali'i at the coroner's office. The man's name is being withheld pending notification of his family.

Officials found two known addresses for him, one in Watsonville and one on 55th Avenue in Oakland, but are still investigating whether the man was currently homeless. They are treating the Oakland address as his last known.

Two trains had gone by recently and investigators are trying to determine which of them struck the man, Kaho'ali'i said.

Amtrak train operators who were running trains along the Union Pacific tracks had reported seeing the body but had not reported hitting anybody, Union Pacific spokeswoman Zoe Richmond said. No Union Pacific operators reported any hits either, she said.

"We're still determining if this was suicide or an accident," Kaho'ali'i said.