Train kills Berkeley man using cell phone on tracks

0 Comments | Oakland Tribune, Nov 16, 2007 | by Doug Oakley

An Amtrak train hit and killed a Berkeley man as he crossed the tracks while talking on his cell phone Thursday morning.

Scott Slaughter, 31, was taking a shortcut on his way to work at Truitt & White lumber store when he was hit at 8:15 a.m., said a spokeswoman with the Alameda County Coroner's Bureau.

Slaughter got off a bus at the Berkeley Amtrak station and attempted to cross two sets of tracks to pass through a hole cut in the fence on the other side instead of walking farther north to a crossing at Hearst Street, the spokeswoman said.

According to witnesses, Slaughter waited for one train to pass on a first set of tracks, then crossed onto the second set of tracks and was hit by a second train.

"He crossed one track and didn't hear or see the other one because he was on his phone," the spokeswoman said. "It looks like an accident now."

Bill Graham, purchasing manager at Truitt & White, said the Berkeley Fire Department will have grief counseling available for employees today.

"It's been tough for all of us here today," Graham said. "He was a great man, and we all are feeling the pain of his loss."

Graham said Slaughter was a supervisor in charge of stock and inventory and oversaw six employees.

"I can't say anything but good about him," Graham said. "He was a very good leader, and he helped create a wonderful team effort for the people who worked for him."

Graham said Slaughter is survived by his father and two brothers. He was not married, Graham said.

Patty Hall, a Truitt & White employee who knew Slaughter, said he had worked at the company for about three years and went to work the same way every day.

"He was just a young man full of life," Hall said. "He had a lot of love in his heart. It's like a family here, and he fit in real well with the family."

The accident halted Amtrak service through Berkeley until 11 a.m. The Chicago-bound train out of Oakland that hit Slaughter was going about 70 mph, said Berkeley police Lt. Matt Morizono.

The train, carrying 73 passengers, was delayed by three hours.

Capitol Corridor service from Oakland to Sacramento was delayed by up to 21/2 hours, and San Joaquin service from Oakland to Bakersfield was delayed by an hour.

In 2006, California had the highest number of pedestrians killed by trains, 91, in the country, according to the Federal Railroad Administration.

Reach Doug Oakley at doakley@ebdailynews.com.