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Fourth Metrolink Fatality in Two Weeks Likely a Suicide

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Photo by GOLFX via Shutterstock

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A fourth person has been killed by an L.A.-area Metrolink train in the last two weeks.

According to the City News Service, Metrolink spokesman Jeff Lustgarten stated that witnesses observed the man running up to the crossing, waiting for the train to approach, ignoring the driver's honking and then jumping in front of it.

Orange Police Department Sergeant Fred Lopez said a suicide note was later found in the man's car, which had been parked nearby. He has been identified as a 63-year-old Santa Ana resident, but his identity won't be made public until his family has been notified.

The incident occurred between the Anaheim and Orange stations at Eckhoff Street in Orange just before 9 a.m. today. The southbound train was headed toward Oceanside and none of the 200 passengers on board was hurt.

As the L.A. Times notes, it's the fourth time a Metrolink death has occurred in the last two weeks, and the third in Orange County, with the past incidents in Fullerton, Anaheim and near Cal State L.A..

Although it's yet to be confirmed, it seems the man took his own life, and, as we've reported in the past, trains seem to be a popular method of choice for suicides.

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