WYOMING, DELAWARE (12/15/2014) A 37-year-old bicyclist was killed Sunday evening when, tired of waiting for a train stopped at a signal crossing, he decided to crawl under it and the train began to move, dragging him with it, state police said.
The victim was identified this afternoon as Phillip Hartly Jr. of Dover.
The incident happened about 5:10 p.m. on Southern Boulevard at the Norfolk Southern tracks.
With Hartly underneath, the 128-car freight train reversed direction, continuing to drag him.
Witnesses called 911 and dispatchers contacted the Norfolk Southern Railroad, which contacted the conductor on the train, Matthew Killinger, 21, of Elkton, Maryland, who then stopped the train.
Hartly was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police are still investigating the incident.
Southern Boulevard, West Camden-Wyoming Avenue and Front Street were all closed for about 3.5 hours as the incident was investigated.
This was the second serious Delaware accident involving a bicyclist in less than 48 hours. On Friday evening, a bicyclist suffered multiple injuries when he was struck by a large pickup truck in Newark.