Columbia man lying on railroad tracks dies when train hits him

Richland County coroner Gary Watts has identified a man struck and killed by an Amtrak train early Friday morning as 39-year-old Tony Stearns of Columbia.

Richland County deputies are investigating why Stearns might have been lying on a set of train tracks before the northbound passenger train struck and killed him early Friday morning.

Lt. Curtis Wilson, a department spokesman, said deputies responded to the tracks near Two Notch and Fontaine roads in reference to a person being struck by a train just before 5 a.m. Friday. The man was lying on the tracks, Wilson said, before the train struck and killed him.

Wilson said the train was traveling to Charlotte and was carrying about 200 passengers, none of whom were injured in the incident.

An investigation by the Sheriff’s Department and Coroner’s Office continues.

This story was originally published September 4, 2015 at 8:03 AM with the headline "Columbia man lying on railroad tracks dies when train hits him."