A 27-year-old Hooper man has died from injuries sustained when he was struck Wednesday night by a Union Pacific freight train, the Morgan County Sheriff's Department says.
Sheriff's Deputy Stephen Seim said the man, identified as Gary D. Hipwell, had been fishing from the railroad tracks shortly before the accident.Hipwell was rushed by ambulance to St. Benedict's Hospital in Washington Terrace, where he was dead on arrival.
Seim said Hipwell was standing on the tracks about 4 miles west of Morgan when the accident occurred at 8:04 p.m.
He said the man was fishing in a creek that flows between the railroad tracks and Interstate 84.
Seim said Hipwell was standing at a point where the tracks curve and apparently did not see the eastbound train approaching.
The engineer applied the brakes when he spotted the man but was unable to stop the train in time, the deputy said.