Man struck by train, killed on tracks near Latrobe

A Latrobe-area man was struck and killed by a freight train Tuesday afternoon on railroad tracks in Derry Township, according to the Westmoreland County coroner's office.

Deputy Coroner Timothy O'Donnell said Adam J. Halula, 28, formerly of Pittsburgh, died of blunt-force trauma to the head. He said the death has tentatively been ruled a suicide.

Emergency responders were summoned to the Norfolk Southern tracks off Route 981 near Latrobe at 4:28 p.m., authorities said.

According to O'Donnell, Halula was lying on the tracks when he was struck by a westbound train.

“The conductor of the train saw him and was not able to stop,” O'Donnell said.

Halula was lying along the tracks behind a True Value Hardware store, on a hillside above the Latrobe sewage plant, Bradenville fire Capt. Eric Bosco said.

State police are investigating.

Funeral arrangements had not been finalized Tuesday night. O'Donnell said Halula had recently moved back to the Latrobe area, where his family resides.