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Train accident claims Leetonia man

LEETONIA – A Leetonia man was killed instantly early Saturday morning after he was hit by a train.

Leetonia police responded shortly after 12:30 a.m. to a call from a dispatcher for Norfolk Southern, which operates the rail line. The dispatcher reported the train’s conductor was traveling west through the downtown area when he hit a man on the tracks near Chestnut Street.

Officers found Sean Quick, 41, Columbia Street, under the train around 12:50 a.m. Quick was pronounced dead at the scene by an investigator with the Columbiana County Coroner’s office, who arrived around 1:30 a.m.

According to reports, dispatchers said Quick was not responsive as the train came.

“The conductor had spotted him on the tracks around 12:30, and he was not moving,” Leetonia Police Chief John Soldano said. “He then hit the emergency stop.”

The impact, according to reports, resulted in Quick’s sudden death.

“Officers found the man under the train,” Soldano said. “He had been dead due to the severity of his injuries.”

Soldano said alcohol may have also played a role in his death, but toxicology reports are pending.

“At this time, we cannot confirm that drugs were involved,” Soldano said. “There may have been a possibility that alcohol may be involved, but that information would come from the coroner.”

SPSI Environmental Cleaning Services arrived at the accident scene around 3:30 a.m. and began cleanup. The train resumed its route around 5:40 a.m. after the cleanup concluded.

The accident remains under investigation.

Along with the coroner’s office and SPSI, Leetonia Fire and EMS and Sgt. Barry Thompson of the Lisbon post of the State Highway Patrol also assisted at the scene.

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