Train Hits, Kills Man Who Jumped on Track

A man believed to be a former mental patient was killed Saturday in the Willowbrook area of Los Angeles when he jumped on the track of the Metro Rail Blue Line and was struck by a southbound train, authorities said.

Witnesses said the victim appeared to intentionally leap into the path of the onrushing train shortly after noon as it passed through the intersection of 130th Street and Willowbrook Avenue. He was declared dead at the scene.

Clothing and a wristband worn by the man indicated he may have recently been released from the Augustus F. Hawkins Mental Health Center near Compton, according to Deputy Mary Landreth, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

Authorities declined to publicly identify the man until his relatives could be notified.

A nursing supervisor at the Hawkins center, which is located less than a mile from the location where the man died, declined to provide any information, citing patient confidentiality.

Blue Line trains have been involved in four deaths and at least 36 collisions since the commuter line opened a year ago.