An 83-year-old Lake Zurich man was fatally hit by a train Wednesday afternoon.

At 1:38 p.m., Earl F. Young was hit and killed by a westbound train at Fourth Street and Lincoln Highway. Witnesses told police the railroad crossing gates were down while Young was crossing the tracks, according to a DeKalb Police Department press release.

Young was pronounced dead at the scene at 2 p.m., according to a DeKalb County Coroner’s Office press release.

“We believe he was somewhat hard of hearing and may not have heard the train,” said Lt. Gary Spangler of the DeKalb Police Department. “It did not appear he was trying to beat the train.”

One witness who was at the train crossing, Jim Feyerherm, 47, of DeKalb said he heard the train sound its horn and saw a man with a limp, identified as Young, trying to cross the tracks.

“It looked to me like he started to hurry up,” Feyerherm said. “It seemed like he was trying to hurry.”

Spangler said Young owns some apartments in the downtown area on Lincoln Highway.

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