Cocoa man killed by freight train was attempting to cross tracks, say police

J.D. Gallop, Florida Today
Updated ·1 min read

Cocoa police said a 55-year-old man killed late Sunday by a freight train apparently was attempting to cross the railroad tracks near U.S. 1.

The deadly crash happened about 6 p.m. Sunday in the 1800 block of Michigan Avenue.

"That area is not a crossing," said Yvonne Martinez, spokesperson for the Cocoa Police Department. "We interviewed the conductor who seemed to think that he was attempting to cross the railroad track."

Cocoa Police say a 55-year-old homeless man was killed during an attempt to cross the railroad tracks. An investigation is ongoing.
Cocoa Police say a 55-year-old homeless man was killed during an attempt to cross the railroad tracks. An investigation is ongoing.

Police said the man may have miscalculated the speed of the oncoming train.

More: Pedestrian struck, killed in Brevard's latest Brightline-related crash

The man was identified as Harold Lafferty of Cocoa. His body was turned over to the medical examiner's office for an autopsy. The death is the sixth involving a train in Brevard since January. The other five deaths reported since January involved the Brightline passenger train. An investigation continues.

J.D. Gallop is a criminal justice/breaking news reporter at FLORIDA TODAY. Contact Gallop at 321-917-4641 or jgallop@floridatoday.com. Twitter: @JDGallop.

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Man killed by freight train in attempting to cross tracks in Cocoa