Men killed in traffic crash with freight train ID’d

LANCASTER – The Los Angeles Couty Coroner’s Office has released the names of the two men who were killed Friday when their vehicle was struck by a freight train in the Lancaster area.

They were identified as Quartz Hill residents Brittan Nolte, 30, and Jeffrey Russ, 37, according to the coroner’s office.

The fatal collision happened around 5:12 a.m. Friday,  May 29, at the railroad crossing on Avenue I  east of Sierra Highway, according to a news release from the Lancaster Sheriff’s Station.

The two men were traveling westbound on Avenue I in a mid-sized SUV when their vehicle collided with a Union Pacific Train that was traveling south on the railroad tracks at about 40 miles per hour, according to the news release.

“Both RR arms for westbound travel were in place, in the downed position, and functioning properly at the time of the collision,” the news release states.

Nolte and Russ were pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics from the Los Angeles County Fire Department.

“Video surveillance footage was located in the area and is currently being reviewed to provide us additional information into the fatal collision,” the sheriff’s news release states.

Anyone with information regarding this collision is encouraged to contact the traffic investigators at the Lancaster Sheriff ‘s Station at 661-948-8466.

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