UPDATE: Man Found Dead on Culver City Expo Line Tracks

A man in his 20s was found dead on an elevated section of the Expo Line tracks in Culver City early Sunday morning.

Sgt. Andrew Bedogne of the Transit Services Bureau said the victim showed no signs of trauma.

"He wasn't hit by a train," Bedogne said. "It (the death) was of an accidental nature." 

Bedogne would not say what led investigators to believe the death was accidental. He did say the body has been turned over to the coroner's office. 

"He may have fallen from the platform area, onto the tracks. It's still under investigation," added Metro spokesperson Rick Jager. 

Firefighters sent to Platform 2 at the Culver City Expo Line Station at 8804 W. Washington Blvd. declared the man dead at 1:19 a.m. and asked for any trains still running to be stopped. The investigation was turned over sheriff's deputies with the Transit Services Bureau, which is charge of policing Metro trains, buses and stations.

Trains run until about 2 a.m. on weekends. Expo Line light-rail cars typically get their electricity from overhead lines, and no electrical malfunction was reported. The Culver City Station is at the end of the line, and trains routinely creep into it to stop at a barrier just before the tracks end, 40 feet above the ground.

The station is elevated above Washington Boulevard, but the victim apparently did not fall further than the three feet from the platform to the tracks, Jager said..

"I think this is the first death," Bedogne said. "We (the Expo Line) hasn't been open that long."

Service on the Expo Line began June 20, and normal service was provided today.

Patch will bring you more details as they become available.

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