Just before 9:30 pm on Monday night, a man riding a bike died while crossing the train tracks near SE Oak and Campbell Streets in Milwaukie (about seven miles south of Portland).
According to the Milwaukie Police Department, it was a southbound Amtrak train. On KGW‘s newscast tonight, they reported that there were several cars waiting at the train crossing arms (which were down) when “all of the sudden, a man on a bike rode past the cars and onto the tracks.” A Milwaukie police detective interviewed by KGW said the train was honking. There is no explanation at this time why the man on the bike continued onto the tracks.
Google Maps shows SE Oak as a bike route, but I’m not familiar with this area. Perhaps one of our readers from Milwaukie can shed some light? We’ll update this post as more information becomes known.
UPDATE from Milwaukie Police department:
“Witnesses reported seeing the bicyclist pedal past vehicles stopped at the train crossing. The bicyclist drove around the crossing arm. Witnessed believe he was attempting to beat the train.
48-year-old Kenneth Kevin VanLoo (09-22-61)resident of Milwaukie, was found deceased at the scene. The investigation is continuing.”