LEXINGTON, SC — A man walking down the middle of train tracks was struck from behind and killed by a Norfolk Southern freight train Thursday in the town of Lexington.

“For some reason he did not hear the train coming,” Lexington police spokesman Lt. Matt Davis said.

A preliminary investigation suggests the victim, identified by Lexington County Coroner Harry Harman as Phillip A. Stout, 22, Lexington, might have been wearing headphones at the time of the accident.

The incident occurred around 5:16 p.m. near the intersection of S. Lake Drive and Railroad Avenue, Davis said. Both the train and the victim were traveling east.

Harman said the engineer attempted to stop the train but could not avoid hitting Stout.

Rachael Myers Lowe; Kelly Davis contributed