Amtrak train hits and kills man on tracks near Chambers Creek

STEILACOOM, Wash. -- A man was fatally struck by an Amtrak train Sunday morning near Chambers Creek.

The News Tribune reports the man was walking along the tracks at about 8:30 a.m. when he jumped to another track to avoid a northbound freight train, but the man didn't see an approaching Amtrak train traveling south to Portland.

The southbound Amtrak train hit and killed the adult man, BNSF Railways spokesman Gus Melonas said.

Steilacoom Public Safety Chief TJ Rodriguez said the man was in his late 20s and from South Carolina. He died at the scene.

Rodriguez said the man was a transient but it does not appear to be a suicide.

Four trains were affected by the crash and investigation. The tracks were reopened about 2 and a half hours later.

Melonas said this was the 17th death on railroad tracks in Washington state this year.

The Associated Press contributed to this article.