Man killed after being struck by train in downtown Ashland

ASHLAND — A local man died Thursday night when he was struck by a commuter rail train downtown, authorities said.

Authorities identified the man as Jason Haywood, 45.

"The preliminary investigation suggests that the man may have been attempting to cross the tracks at the time he was struck," according to a press release from the Middlesex District Attorney's Office.

The incident occurred at 7:40 p.m. near the Main Street crossing. Haywood was declared dead at the scene, the District Attorney's Office said. The train had recently left the Framingham station.

More:Man watches his car get destroyed after it gets stuck at Ashland rail crossing

Police Chief Cara Rossi said portions of the road around the crash scene were closed until early Friday morning.

MetroWest has seen several train-related fatalities in the recent past.

Last June, a man was struck and killed by a train near the Natick Veterans of Foreign Wars facility on West Central Street. Three months earlier, a woman was struck and killed by a train on East Central Street in Natick.

Last February, a man accidentally drove his car onto the tracks near Main Street in Ashland, where the vehicle was struck and destroyed by a commuter rail train.

More:Man is killed after being struck by commuter rail train in Natick

Thursday's crash remains under investigation by the Middlesex District Attorney's Office, the MBTA Transit Police and the Massachusetts State Police.

Norman Miller can be reached at 508-626-3823 or nmiller@wickedlocal.com. For up-to-date public safety news, follow him on Twitter @Norman_MillerMW or on Facebook at facebook.com/NormanMillerCrime.

This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Commuter rail train strikes, kills, man in Ashland