Dinner-Train Fatality Likely Was A Suicide

An apparently suicidal Seattle man was killed last night when he was struck by the Spirit of Washington Dinner Train in Kirkland.

The train was returning to its Renton base about 9:30 p.m. when a 47-year-old man identified as Mark Stephen Harrod was struck near Northeast 100th Street and 111th Avenue Northeast, according to the Kirkland Fire Department.

Earlier in the day, Harrod made several calls to a home in Seattle, indicating he was going to commit suicide, Kirkland police said.

Witnesses told police Harrod was walking with his back to the train when the crew saw him in the middle of the tracks. He didn't respond to the warning horn, and the train was unable to stop in time, police said.

Additional safety measures, such as warning signs and swinging crossarms, have been installed to increase safety along the dinner-train route because of previous accidents.

Last night's accident was the seventh involving the dinner train and the second in which someone died since the train began the run in 1989. Other accidents include:

-- August 1995 - A van was dragged 90 feet after being hit at a private crossing in Bellevue. Three men were injured.

-- May 1994 - A Bellevue woman was struck and killed while trying to free her dogs from the tracks.