(Madera, California – April 28, 2011)
A 40-year-old Madera resident, Joseph Trinidad Deanda, died the day after he was struck and seriously injured by a passing Union Pacific freight train Wednesday night about 10:00 P.M. as he attempted to free his car from being stuck in the railroad ballast along the UPRR tracks at Sharon Blvd. and Clark Street.
The train’s engineer said it appeared Deanda was lying on the ground, attempting to extricate his vehicle from the gravel, when he was hit by the train’s locomotive. The car itself was never hit at all, however, and the victim was airlifted to Community Regional Medical Center in Fresno, where he died from his injuries Thursday morning. The California Highway Patrol investigated the accident.