Crime & Safety
UPDATE: Police Identify Man Struck by Amtrak Train Thursday Night
Amtrak Train Number 19 The Crescent from New York, VRE train, waited at scene while local police handled fatality.
UPDATE 9:45 am Friday — Fairfax County Police have identified the man struck by the Amtrak train Thursday night as Richard Anderson, 64, of the North Springfield area.
The Amtrak train was travelling west, just west of the Backlick Road overpass, when it struck and killed Anderson.
No word on how Anderson got onto the tracks.
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Detectives from the Crash Reconstruction Unit responded to investigate and do not suspect foul play, the investigation continues.
UPDATE 9 p.m. Thursday — VRE passengers are on buses headed to VRE stations after becoming delayed tonight when an Amtrak train struck and killed a pedestrian south of Alexandria.
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UPDATE 8:45 p.m. Thursday — The person struck and killed by an Amtrak train Thursday night near Backlick Road "appears to be an adult male," according to Officer Shelley Broderick, a spokesperson for the Fairfax County Police Department.
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An Amtrak train has hit and killed a pedestrian south of the Alexandria train station, according to an Amtrak spokesman.
A VRE report puts the accident near Backlick road and Interstate 495.
Amtrak Train Number 19, the Crescent, which departed New York today is traveling to New Orleans; it struck a person on the tracks south of the Alexandria station at approxmately 6:59 p.m., said Steve Kulm, a spokesman for Amtrak.
The train, holding 226 passengers, is waiting at the scene while Fairfax County officials clear the scene, Kulm said. There are no reported injuries to passengers or crew, he said.
The fatality also impacted VRE service. A message on the VRE Web site reads: "7:26p 337 is stopped just south of Alexandria. Amtrak train ahead of it may have struck a person on the tracks."
A message at 7:45 p.m. on the VRE Web site reads: "Again, working to get buses. Finding drivers at this time of night may take an hour at least. If passengers can get someone to pick them up at Backlick, it would be recommended."
No word on the identity of the person killed on the tracks.
Patch will update this story as we receive new information.
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