Bend police: Fatal train-pedestrian collision determined to be suicide

(Update: Police determine fatality was suicide)

BEND, Ore. (KTVZ) – A man was struck and killed on railroad tracks in northeast Bend late Saturday afternoon by a BNSF Railway freight train, in what police said Monday was determined to be a suicide.

Bend police and fire medics were dispatched at 5:07 p.m. Saturday to the report of a pedestrian that was struck by a train on the BNSF tracks near Northeast Second Street and adjacent to the northbound onramp to the Bend Parkway at Colorado Avenue, Lieutenant Clint Burleigh said.

They arrived to find the deceased male beside the tracks, he said. His name, age and hometown were not released, pending family notification.

The train involved had left the area and was located in northern Klamath County, where the Klamath County Sheriff’s Office assisted in the investigation by inspecting the train, the lieutenant said.

Bend police officers and detectives, along with the Oregon Department of Investigation and BNSF Railway staff spent hours on scene investigating the incident, Burleigh said.

BNSF Railway trains were stopped in the area as the investigation was underway, but there were no road closures as a result, he said.

Lt. Juli McConkey said, "If you or someone you know is experiencing self-harming thoughts, Bend Police encourage our community to reach out to the Deschutes County Stabilization Center at https://www.deschutes.org/health/page/crisis-services  or 541-322-7500, for help."

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