Wisconsin man identified as rail worker killed in St. Paul Saturday

The Canadian Pacific employee killed in a St. Paul rail yard Saturday was identified as Jeffrey Harsh of West Allis, Wis.

Harsh, 43, was pronounced dead at 1:13 a.m. in the emergency room at Regions Hospital, according to the Ramsey County medical examiners office.

Harsh was injured about 12:30 a.m. in the Canadian Pacific rail yard along Childs Road during a shift change.

"The gentleman was trying to cross over some tracks in front of some moving trains," said Sgt. Mike Ernster, a police spokesman. "The train made contact with him, knocking him down."

Ernster said one train struck Harsh, and that it was "slow-moving."

St. Paul police spokesman Steve Linders said preliminary information reported to police was that Harsh had been caught between two train cars. However, Linders said, further investigation revealed that "may not have happened."

The death was ruled an accident pending toxicology reports and is under investigation by Canadian Pacific.

The company had no new information to share Monday, instead rereleasing a statement shared over the weekend.

"Out of respect for their privacy, we are not releasing additional details about the employee or the incident," said the statement from Assistant Vice President of Communications Martin Cej. "CP is conducting a thorough investigation into the incident to better understand what occurred. We are offering counseling to our employees through our employee assistance program."

CHAO XIONG