An unidentified man was killed shortly before 4 p.m. Friday while walking along the CSX railroad tracks near the West Bel Air Avenue intersection, according to a posting on the Aberdeen Police Department Facebook page.
Aberdeen Police "responded at approximately 3:40 p.m. Friday to a report of a pedestrian struck by a freight train on the CSX tracks around the W. Bel Air Avenue crossing," according to the statement prepared by Aberdeen Police Sergeant C. William Reiber.
Early Sunday morning, Aberdeen Police identified the deceased as 25-year-old Jeremy Z. Cooper 2nd.
According to a statement Aberdeen Police released Sunday morning: "Investigators from the Aberdeen Police Department Criminal Investigations Division arrived on scene, assumed control of the investigation, and processed the incident scene. Witness accounts regarding the incident indicated that Cooper was walking on the tracks in the direction of the oncoming train. Investigators accessed and viewed on train video confirming the victim was on the tracks, and walking in the direction of the train at the time of the incident. Mr. Cooper's body was transported to the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner pending an autopsy."
Traffic on West Bel Air Avenue was rerouted around the scene for just about two hours, according to Aberdeen Police Facebook posts. Police reported in a Facebook post at 5:46 p.m. Friday that West Bel Air Avenue at the scene of the incident had reopened.