The King County Medical Examiner’s Office has identified the man killed in a train pedestrian accident in Auburn May 7 near the 1200 block of C Street Northwest as Juan Martinez, 50, of Renton.
Police said Martinez was talking on his cell phone about noon and did not see the approaching Amtrak Cascades passenger train or hear the conductor repeatedly blow the horn. The conductor applied the brakes but couldn’t stop in time. Martinez was thrown some 300 yards.
Gus Melonas, a spokesman for BNSF Railway, said last week that the train was traveling at 79 miles per hour at the time of the accident.
The Medical Examiner’s office ruled the death an accident. Amtrak, BNSF and the Auburn Police are continuing to investigate the accident.
Martinez had worked for the last two months as a groom at Emerald Downs.
Mother, son injured
A 56-year-old woman and her 37-year-old son were thrown from a four-wheel, all-terrain vehicle after striking a tree at about 9:25 p.m. Sunday near the intersection of 1st Avenue East and Eastgate Avenue in Pacific.
Personnel from the Valley Regional Fire Authority and King County Medic units responded to the accident. The woman, the sole passenger, sustained critical injuries and was transported by Medic 6 to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. Her son, who was driving, sustained moderate injuries and was also taken by ambulance to Harborview.
Pacific police, who are investigating the accident, had not yet released the names as of Thursday morning.
An ATV travels on low-pressure tires, with a seat that is straddled by the operator, and with handlebars for steering control. It is intended for use by a single operator. Although ATVs are street legal in some countries, numerous cities and some states, including California, have banned them from use on streets.
Elsewhere
A 16-year-old Auburn boy died Saturday after he was stabbed in a fight after a house party, the King County Sheriff’s Office reported Sunday. Another 16-year-old boy was injured in the confrontation at a dead-end street, near Kent’s Park Orchard Elementary, the Sheriff’s Office reported. Police were investigating and had made no arrests, Sheriff’s Sgt. John Urquhart said.
