A man tried to use the railroad tracks along the waterfront as an escape route after climbing over a 6 foot wall and attempting to enter a ground floor apartment. His brief run for freedom was thwarted when officers set up containment at both ends of the Burlington Northern Santa Fe (BNSF) Railroad tunnel and the suspect was captured.
The incident began around 3:30 this morning in the 1900 Block of Alaskan Way when the tenant awoke to find an unknown man had climbed over the 6 foot wall into their secure patio area and tried to enter the residence through the sliding door. The suspect ran away when he saw the tenant, running east from the building. Responding officers saw the man running on the train tracks behind that location. The suspect ran away from the officer and into the BNSF Railroad tunnel while a northbound train was exiting the tunnel. Officers quickly set up containment on both ends of the tunnel and dispatchers worked closely with BNSF personnel to stop any additional trains from entering the tunnel. Officers located the suspect about a quarter of a mile south of the tunnel entrance. He was lying motionless next to the tracks and at first it appeared as if he had been struck by a train.
He hadn’t.
The ruse didn’t fool the officers, and they took the suspect into custody. The man was uninjured, but told officers he had been struck by a train and that it had pushed him back off the tracks. After the man was removed safely from the tracks, BNSF reopened the tracks to normal train traffic. The 45-year-old man was later booked into the King County Jail for Investigation of Burglary.