(L.A.) George Plitt, Jr., 37, Died on Railroad Tracks
Case Number: 2015-00471
Los Angeles County is reporting the death of a 37-year-old Caucasian male that occurred on railroad tracks.
The coroner’s office has identified the man as George Plitt, Jr.
Manner of Death: Accident
Cause of Death: Multiple Blunt Force Injuries
RIP GEORGE PLITT, JR. (November 3, 1977 – January 17, 2015)
Formal pronouncement of death was made on Saturday at 4:19 p.m.
The decedent was a fitness model and actor. He starred in the Bravo television series Work Out. He was hit by a train locomotive while filming a video.
Plitt was fatally hit by a southbound Metrolink Antelope Valley Line train 268, led by Metrolink MP36PH-3C locomotive no. 888 in Burbank while running between the rails. The entire incident resulting in his death was recorded by an onboard event recorder camera mounted in the cab of the lead locomotive.
After examining the video, police speculated that Plitt may have been trying to outrace the train when it approached for a video he was shooting. He was shortly after knocked off the tracks and out of frame. He may have believed the train was coming up behind him on a parallel track, not the one he was on. The video was for a self-produced energy drink commercial.
“Those involved with the filming told police they were not aware Plitt would be running on the track.”
Footage showed that Plitt “at some point steps on the tracks, sees the train coming and starts to run.” It also shows that he neither tripped nor fell while running on the tracks, something they couldn’t ascertain with the Metrolink train video because of the angle of that camera.