EAST ALTON – A man walking on a train track was struck by a train about a half-mile north of St. Louis Avenue in East Alton on Sunday morning when he was struck.
The man, identified as Robert Dale, 60, was found alongside the railroad tracks just adjacent to Gate 7 on Olin Property’s Wastewater Treatment Plant facility in East Alton. The incident occurred at 9:30 a.m. Sunday.
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“I talked to the train engineer and he said the man was walking and he observed him near the tracks,” East Alton Police Chief Darren Carlton said. “The engineer tried to brake and thought he would clear the man but he looked in the rear-view mirror and saw him rolling on the ground. He must have been hit by the side of the train; it wasn’t full force. The train kind of clipped him. EMS, fire and an ambulance arrived and stabilized him.
“He was taken to Olin’s property and an ARCH Helicopter flew him to St. Louis. This morning, he remained in critical condition.”
Carlton said the man is known to have walked around East Alton and its surrounding areas and was recently spotted at Route 3 at Circle K walking. Carlton was unsure why he was down in that area on Sunday morning.
The police chief said this type of incident doesn’t happen frequently, and when they do it usually involves pedestrians and the consequences are serious.
The man was taken to SSM Health Saint Louis University Hospital in St. Louis.
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