"You wouldn't go play on an airport runway or.. on an interstate highway," said Steven Kulm, director of public affairs for the Federal Railroad Administration. "But people seem to think it's OK to do that on an active railroad track."

Matthew J. Johnson, 22, of West Carrollton, was killed at about 4 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 10, on a trestle a stretch of tracks that crosses over water between Old Mill Road and the Masonic Home grounds. Johnson had been on the trestle with three other people, including one relative, when a train approached, according to Sgt. Christopher Clark of the Clark County Sheriff's Office.

The three others jumped about 50 feet from the trestle to the water below but told investigators that Johnson had been afraid to jump and instead tried to outrun the train down the length of the trestle to safety. He was struck by the train traveling approximately 35 to 40 miles per hour and killed, said Sgt. Dustin White.

The tracks are owned by Norfolk Southern Corp. Rudy Husband, a spokesman for the company said he was not familiar with the history of the tracks but said that the area is "private property." He declined to make any further comment.

The majority of train-related deaths each year are trespassing deaths, Kulm said. Combined with deaths of passengers in vehicles struck by a train, crossing and trespassing deaths make up 95 percent of train-related fatalities.

"We definitely don't want people on that trestle, and if we catch them there, they're going to be charged," said Clark.

Trestles can be problematic for officials, he said.

"Many times people use the trestle not only to walk across the river, but they hang out on it," he said. "We've had cases where people are fishing off the railroad."

Last year, two young girls each lost part of their leg while sunbathing on a trestle, he said.

Clark County has approximately one trespassing train death each year, according to the FRA.

"People don't think of it as being as dangerous," said Clark.

The trestle where Johnson was killed illustrates many of the challenges of enforcing trespassing laws. It is accessible to pedestrians traveling down or along the river but hard for officers to reach because no roads lead directly to the stretch.

"Railroad tracks generally run through unpopulated, rural areas, and they're easily accessible and that's an issue," Clark said.

The FRA commissioned a report in March to study the characteristics of people who trespass on train tracks and why.

The 83-page report reveals that males trespass on train tracks more often than females and that the 40- to 44-year-old male is the most common trespasser. Males in Johnson's age group 20- to 24-years old also have high rates of trespassing on railroads.

(This item appeared in the News-Sun Aug. 12, 2008.)