Coroner identifies bicyclist struck, killed by train

Investigators say man failed to stop at closed crossing gate

A bicyclist who was struck and killed by a SMART train in San Rafael earlier this month has been identified as Martin Ray Hoffman, 36, the Marin County Sheriff’s Coroner’s Division said Tuesday.

Hoffman, who is a resident of San Rafael and Oroville, Washington, wasn’t carrying identification at the time of the incident, delaying notification to next of kin, the coroner said.

The incident happened around 6:50 p.m. on July 3 at the rail crossing at North San Pedro Road at Los Ranchitos Road near the Civic Center, authorities said.

The engineer reported seeing a bicyclist traveling at a high rate of speed as the train was approaching, authorities said.

A witness said the cyclist rode through the closed rail crossing.

The preliminary investigation has revealed that Hoffman failed to stop at the crossing gate despite warning lights and closing crossing arms, the coroner said.

Hoffman appears to have steered into the barrier, causing him to fall and slide onto the train tracks.

He suffered critical injuries and was transported to MarinHealth Medical Center in Greenbrae, where he died.

A forensic post mortem examination and toxicology testing was completed July 6. The cause and manner of death will be pending the conclusion of the investigation by San Rafael police, the sheriff’s office and the coroner.

The incident is the third fatality along the SMART tracks in Marin since the rail line launched in August 2017.

In August 2018, a 72-yearold woman crawling on the tracks was struck by southbound train approaching its next stop at the Hamilton Station.

The woman was struck as the train was traveling about 20-35 mph. The conductor saw her and sounded the train’s horn and applied the emergency brakes, according to police.

In December 2019, a 71-year-old man was struck and killed by a train in Novato. The train was traveling about 45 mph when the train operator braked and sounded the horn after seeing the man standing on the tracks.

The train could not slow down quickly enough to avoid the collision at Grant Avenue and Railroad Avenue, police said.