20-year-old SIU student identified as pedestrian killed, hit by freight train Sunday

By Staff Report

The Carbondale Police Department and the SIU Department of Public Safety are investigating an early Sunday morning death after an individual was struck by a freight train.

Police have identified the victim as Aaron Banez, a 20-year-old SIU student from Chicago, according to a press release sent on Monday.

Officers with the City of Carbondale Police Department and the SIU Police Department responded to the East Pleasant Hill Road overpass at 4:28 a.m. Sunday morning after the individual was struck by a northbound freight train, according to an earlier report.

 

East Pleasant Hills overpass via Google Maps

 

Banez was walking in the area of the train tracks when struck by the train – the area was not a railroad crossing, according to the report.

The Carbondale Police Department and the SIU Police Department are working together on the currently active investigation with assistance from the Canadian National Railroad.

Anyone with information about the incident is encouraged to contact the Police Department at (618) 457-3200 or Crime Stoppers at (618) 549-COPS (2677).

This story will be updated as more information becomes available. 

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