A man was killed early Thursday morning when he was struck by a train while on foot near the Union Pacific railroad tracks at Main Street.

According to the Manteca Police Department, the incident occurred shortly after 2 a.m. on Thursday, and the crossing remained closed for several hours while investigators processed the scene.

The name of the deceased has not been released by authorities.

It was the first fatal accident involving a train and a pedestrian this year.

The last occurred before Christmas in 2022, and that was the first that had occurred in Manteca since 2020. Manteca had been averaging two pedestrian deaths annually through 2018 involving trains. There would have been three deaths in 2018 but a man who sustained serious injuries was able to recover.

There were three train-pedestrian train deaths in 2017 in the Manteca area but one of those was just outside the city limits when a boy tried to beat an ACE train across a trestle while he was bicycling.

The majority of the train-versus-pedestrian deaths occurring since 2008 have been classified as suicides. One incident involved a person who was under the influence of either alcohol or drugs.

A Manteca man was honored nearly 20 years ago after he saved the life of a woman who was standing on the railroad tracks behind his home on Almond Avenue – pulling her to safety just seconds before the train would have collided with her.

Frank Vielma was praised by the Manteca Police Department, Union Pacific, and the Manteca City Council for his heroism.

Prior to that, a Manteca Police officer on patrol was credited for saving a woman standing on the tracks near Library Park. He pulled her to safety moments before the train passed.

To contact Bulletin reporter Jason Campbell email jcampbell@mantecabulletin.com or call 209.249.35444.