On January 20, 2022 at 9:50 AM, the Mentor Police Department responded to an accident involving a train and a motor vehicle on Hopkins Road at the south Norfolk Southern at-grade railroad crossing.
A 2006 Ford F-150 pickup truck was traveling southbound on Hopkins Road. As it approached the crossing, the railroad crossing gates were down, and lights were activated to indicate an approaching eastbound train. According to witnesses, the F-150 passed two stopped vehicles, went around the gate, and was struck by the train on the passenger side of the vehicle.
The driver of the pickup truck, 42-year-old Jason Murphy of Mentor-on-the-Lake, was ejected from his vehicle and died on-scene. He was the sole occupant of the vehicle. No occupants on the train were injured.
This accident is still under investigation. No additional information is available at this time.