A man was struck and killed by an Amtrak Downeaster passenger train Thursday afternoon as he walked on railroad tracks in Falmouth, according to local police.

The victim was identified as 62-year-old Lewis Bradley, whose most recent address was in Portland, Falmouth Police Lt. Jeffrey Pardue said in a release late Thursday.

First responders identified Bradley soon after they arrived. He was pronounced dead at the scene, Pardue said.

The train struck Bradley at around 3:56 p.m. on tracks that run behind the West Falmouth Crossing shopping plaza, located off Route 100, Pardue said. They are located near the Hannaford supermarket and Dunkin Donuts. The tracks are bordered by woods, hiking trails and the Presumpscot River. News Center Maine (WCSH/WLBZ-TV) reported that the tracks where Bradley was hit are close to an encampment for homeless people.

“As a result of the fatality, the train, which was carrying passengers north to Brunswick, was delayed for approximately two and a half hours,” Pardue said. “No other injuries were reported.”

Although none of the 17 passengers on the train or its crew were injured, the incident delayed the train’s trip to Brunswick and also delayed a southbound train scheduled to leave Portland for Boston at 6:13 p.m. Thursday, said Patricia Quinn, executive director of the Northern New England Passenger Rail Authority, which operates the Downeaster.

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Falmouth police told News Center Maine that Bradley was walking on the tracks when the Downeaster struck him.

Pardue said the Falmouth Police are investigating, along with Pan Am Railways police, Amtrak and the Office of the Medical Examiner.

Since 2013, there have been four fatal incidents involving the Downeaster and pedestrians, the most recent in April 2019 in Biddeford.

In the Biddeford incident, 42-year-old Dennis MacGillivray of Biddeford was walking on tracks between Westmore Avenue and Pomerleau Street when he was hit by a southbound train. The other fatalities took place in Portland, Old Orchard Beach and North Berwick.

 

 

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