Page One

Oakland man killed by Richmond freight train

By Jia-Rui Chong Daily Planet staff
Thursday March 07, 2002

A 36-year-old Oakland man was struck and killed by an eastbound local freight train early Wednesday morning. At 3:27 a.m. the train hit Kevin Raney, who was apparently lying on the tracks a quarter-mile north of Gilman Street, according to Charles Brewer, an investigator at the Alameda County Coroner’s Office.  

Lena Kent, spokesperson for the Burlington Northern and Santa Fe Railway, said the man was lying on the tracks in a section that was not at a road crossing.  

The train, running on tracks owned by the Union Pacific Railroad, was going 28 miles per hour, well below the speed limit. It was a Richmond-to-Richmond train that goes back and forth servicing local industries. The crew involved in the incident have been given several days off for trauma relief. 

The coroner’s office is still looking into the cause of the man’s death.  

It is too early to tell whether it was an accident or suicide. 

Union Pacific Director of Public Affairs John Bromley said the train crew called Union Pacific’s central dispatch in Omaha, Neb. at 3:28 a.m. saying the man appeared dead. The company’s railroad police arrived at 4:01 a.m. and notified the Berkeley Police Department, who sent an emergency crew. Brewer said the man was dead when he arrived at the scene at 4:30 a.m. 

John Bromley, director of public affairs for Union Pacific, said accidents like this happen every day on railroads across the country. Every year, there are 500 trespassing fatalities, he said. 

“It happens a lot in California in general, but especially in the Bay Area, we have a lot of problems with trespassers,” said Bromley. 

BPD Capt. Bobby Miller confirmed there was an accident near the Albany-Berkeley line, but he said the local police were only marginally involved. The railroad tracks are not in the BPD’s jurisdiction so the department simply assists the railroad police at the scene and allows the company to do its own investigation.  

Accidents like this are difficult to prevent, said Bromley. Even if the company puts up fences along the tracks, people can always get in at railroad crossings. Trespassing is an even worse problem in urban areas, he said. 

“We have a zero trespassers policy,” said Bromley. “We remove them because it’s a safety issue as well as a property theft and vandalism issue.”