Updated at 1:53 p.m.
By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
A bicyclist who tried to cross the tracks as a freight train was approaching in downtown Centralia last night fell off his bike and was killed by the train.
Officers dispatched at about 11:22 p.m. found him deceased and laying on the tracks, according to the Centralia Police Department.
It happened near the intersection of Locust and Railroad avenues.
Police learned the man had been pedaling east and continued even though the crossing arms were down.
“Witnesses say the subject fell off his bike and was unable to move off the tracks prior to being hit by the train,” detective Patty Finch said in a news release this morning.
Finch said she believes he is local, and 72 years old, but detectives are not releasing his name.
Detectives, law enforcement with BNSF and the coroner’s office were on the scene until about 2:30 a.m.
Lewis County Coroner Warren McLeod said he may be able to reach out to the likely next-of-kin today, but won’t have a confirmed identity of the individual until after the autopsy tomorrow.