Train hits man lying on tracks in Appleton

APPLETON - A New London man was seriously injured when he was hit by a train about 4:30 a.m. Sunday morning, according to Appleton police.

The Canadian National train struck the 21-year-old man, who was lying on the tracks, in the area of West Lawrence Street and South Locust Street, according to a news release from the Appleton Police Department.

He had serious injuries but they did not appear to be life threatening. He was taken to a hospital, where he remained mid-morning on Sunday.

The man's lower body was injured in the crash, Appleton Police Sgt. Dave Lund told USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin.

A preliminary investigation indicates that the man was lying on the railroad tracks as the westbound train came down the tracks. The train engineer tried to brake and use whistles to alert the man but the pedestrian did not move.

The train wasn't able to stop and hit the man.

An officer on patrol heard and saw the train braking quickly and went to see what happened, Lund said.

"Obviously those kinds of things don't happen in the middle of the city too often, and when they do there's usually a good reason for that," Lund said.

How the man ended up on the tracks is part of the investigation.

The crash closed major roads through Appleton until about 7:50 a.m.

The intersection of College Avenue and Richmond Street was blocked in addition to North Oneida Street.

On the east side it was possible to get around the train using North Rankin Street.

Alison Dirr: 920-996-7266 or adirr@gannett.com; on Twitter @AlisonDirr