SC police officer killed while saving person on train tracks

He is being hailed as a hero.

Easley Police Officer Matthew Hare died before daybreak Wednesday as he was helping get a man experiencing a mental health crisis off the train tracks in Easley. The man was saved.

Hare was hit by an oncoming passenger train and died at the scene. He was 22.

Lt. Ashley Anderson of the Easley Police Department struggled to hold back tears as she faced the news media Wednesday afternoon.

“It is a tragic day,” she said.

She asked that people keep the officer’s family in their prayers.

The Amtrak passenger train had just left Greenville enroute to Clemson and ultimately New Orleans. It was delayed for several hours as the State Law Enforcement Division and the Pickens County Coroner’s Office investigated..