Officials said the unidentified male suffered "massive trauma" when hit by a CSX train in the area of Madison Avenue.

Roger Victor, chief investigator for the Fayette County Coroner's Office, said the male's body was stuck beneath the train.

Victor said it took about two hours for crews to extricate the male's body, which was dragged beneath the train for several feet and wedged beneath a railroad car.

"We had to disconnect the train to free the body," he said.

Fayette County Deputy Coroner Bernard Townsend pronounced the man dead at the scene at 7:07 p.m. The male's identity was withheld so that family could be notified.

A spokesman for Fayette County 911 said the accident was reported at 6:53 p.m.

According to officials, the male had reportedly been walking on the tracks when the train hit him. The tracks, owned by Norfolk Southern Corp., do not cross the road where the accident occurred and a car was not involved.

Officials said the engineer of the train, who was not immediately identified, attempted to stop the train but was unable to do so in time to avoid hitting the male.

State police were on scene investigating, as were Masontown police and officials from Norfolk Southern Corp. Masontown and Ronco volunteer fire departments assisted police with traffic control and lighting.

Bob Sullivan, a spokesman for CSX Transportation, said the train was traveling from Newell to Grafton, W.Va, and had two locomotives and was pulling 110 empty freight cars.

Sullivan said the train's crew was relieved of their duty and that another crew was brought in to complete the trip. The crew will be offered counseling, as is standard in fatal accidents.

"Most certainly this is a tragedy both for the family and friends of the victim and the train's crew," he said, noting that it can take a mile or more to bring a moving train to a complete stop.