Contractor hit by MARTA train while working on tracks dies

ATLANTA (AP) - The contractor who was hit by a train while working on the tracks of Atlanta’s transit rail system has died.

WXIA-TV reports 38-year-old Robert Smith died Monday, after he was struck by a Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority train near the Medical Center station Sunday night. MARTA spokeswoman Stephany Fisher says Smith was a contractor with Cleveland Electric.

Cleveland Electric released a statement lauding Smith’s “exemplary record.” The company said Smith was “performing normally scheduled work for MARTA” when he was struck by the northbound train on MARTA’s red line.

The local transit workers union, ATU Local 732, said on Facebook that they wanted to know why Smith’s work vehicle was on the track at the same time as the train.

Fisher said an investigation is underway. No one on the train was injured.

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Information from: WXIA-TV, http://www.11alive.com/