Train kills man lying on tracks in Plant City

PLANT CITY — An unidentified man lying on the railroad tracks was struck and killed by a train Thursday morning, Plant City police said.

The man was hit about 6:40 a.m. near Howard and Renfro streets. A crowd gathered after the incident. It appeared the man had his head on the track, witnesses said, and was beheaded.

"He was using the track as a pillow," said Jerome Kinght, 49, who lives nearby.

Alphonso Forbes, 78, said people seldom walk through or near the area. He heard the train whistle, followed by police sirens, and went to the gruesome scene.

Police were investigating Thursday night and provided no further details or the man's identity because his family had not been notified.

The train had about 40 cars, police said.

This is the third train-related death in two months in Hillsborough County. In March, a 47-year-old woman was walking home from a grocery store in Dover when she was hit by a train and died. In April, a man walking on tracks in Tampa was hit and killed by an Amtrak train.