Early on a cold Saturday morning in Cleveland, 22-year-old Traeshawn Broadnax lost his life after his 2024 Volkswagen SUV came to a stop on railway property and was struck by an eastbound train. The crash occurred at approximately 6:02 a.m. in the area west of Coit Road and north of Kirby Avenue, where the vehicle was partially sitting on a single rail track and partway on the gravel bed.
According to the Cleveland Division of Police Accident Investigation Unit, Broadnax’s SUV had become stopped on the railway property when the train impacted it. The force of the collision propelled the vehicle eastward, across the gravel railway bed and into Coit Road. Broadnax was transported to a nearby hospital, but was later pronounced dead. No other injuries were reported in the incident.
Identification was handled by the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office, which confirmed the victim as Broadnax. Investigators from the Cleveland police are actively looking into how and why the SUV came to be positioned on the tracks and are asking for anyone with information to come forward.
While many details remain under review, the raw facts paint a tragic picture: a young man’s life cut short in an early-morning accident that, on first glance, appears to have involved his car being stuck or stopped in an area meant for rail traffic. The collision unfolded in seconds, leaving no chance for recovery.
Friends, family, and neighbors are now left wondering how such a situation came about. Was the vehicle stalled, deliberately parked, or caught by surprise? Was the driver aware of the risk? These questions are now part of the investigation. The location — railway property west of Coit Road, north of Kirby Avenue — emphasises the hazards of crossing or parking near active rail lines, especially before daylight.
Local law enforcement emphasized the importance of rail safety and urged community members to avoid driving onto gravel rail beds or tracks — even when they appear deserted. The sad outcome of this incident underlines how quickly ordinary situations can turn catastrophic. As the investigation continues, the memory of Traeshawn Broadnax lives on in the questions, the pain, and the hope that awareness might prevent another young life from being lost this way.
In this moment, the quiet streets of Cleveland’s east side echo with a reminder: where rails meet roads is not the place to chance a vehicle stop. The cost can be unthinkably high.
