Grand Saline man dies after being hit by train

VAN ZANDT COUNTY — A Grand Saline man died about 9 p.m. Tuesday when he was struck by an Amtrack train as he tried to run across the tracks. According to our news partner KETK, Jimmy Don Brittain, 47, died at the scene, Van Zandt County Sheriff Steve Hendrix said. Brittain was running across a section of Union Pacific tracks that run parallel to Highway 80 and did not make it. He went down an embankment near the old rodeo grounds and apparently underestimated how far away the train was, the sheriff said. The conductor hit the emergency brake but was not able to stop in time. “We have ruled this death an accident,” Hendricks said.