Female bicyclist fatally struck by train

A female bicyclist was struck and killed this afternoon in Richmond by an eastbound Union Pacific freight train, a Union Pacific spokesman said.

The bicyclist was killed at about 1:50 p.m. about two miles from Central Avenue, spokesman Francisco Castillo Jr. said. No one on the train was injured, he said.

The death is under investigation.

Union Pacific officials will offer peer counseling to the train crew, he said.

He urged pedestrians, bicyclists and motorists to be aware of the hazards at railroad tracks and obey the warning signs. Castillo said it takes about a mile for a train to come to a complete stop and by the time the crew sees a person or object on the tracks it’s too late.