Witnesses say man jumped in front of departing commuter train.

A man was killed Wednesday morning when he  jumped in front of a train leaving the Sylmar/San Fernando station.

Lt. Tony Ruela of the San Fernando Police said that his department received a call about a train versus pedestrian on the train tracks at 9:19 a.m. Officers arriving on the scene found the unidentified man's body lying on the Metrolink tracks 50 feet east of Hubbard Street.

Witnesses told police that they saw the man pacing back and forth at the Hubbard Street crossing, looking left and right and watching passengers board the 210 Metrolink commuter train at the nearby station. As the train left the station and began accelerating, the man jumped in front of the train. The conductor was unable to stop and the man was killed instantly.

Ruela added that all safety systems, including the crossing arms and flashing red warning lights, were fully operational at the time of the incident.

Metrolink spokesman Francisco Oxaca said the train involved had  stopped to pick up passengers at the Via Princessa station before arriving at the Sylmar/San Fernando station and  was due to arrive at Union Station in Los Angeles at 9:50. Approximately 70 passengers were riding the train and stayed on board while investigators cleared the scene. The train resumed its trip at 10:25 a.m., when all normal rail service was restored.

Less than two weeks ago, 25 people died when a Metrolink train collided with a Union Pacific freight train in Chatsworth.

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