UPDATE: Name, Details Released in Train Fatality
SARTELL -- Authorities have released the name of the man killed by a train north of Sartell Friday morning.
Benton County Sheriff Troy Heck says 54-year-old Dale Fries of Sauk Rapids walked in front of the approaching locomotive after his car became hung up on the tracks.
The crash happened at the railroad crossing on Northeast River Road near the junction with North Benton Drive at about 5:30 a.m. Sheriff Heck says the double-track crossing is closed for construction upgrades.
Heck says Fries drove around road closed barriers and got his car hung up on the tracks.
Train operators saw his car on the tracks and saw Fries standing outside the driver's door. They applied the brakes and sounded the horn. As the train approached they say Fries walked out in front of the train and was struck.
The train did not hit Fries' car as it was on the other set of tracks.
Sheriff Heck says the investigation is ongoing.