An Auburn man found dead on the Union Pacific tracks had a 0.19 percent blood-alcohol level at the time he was apparently struck by a train, according to the Placer County coroner. Toxicology tests released this week showed 30-year-old Lowell Robert Grenon also had evidence of marijuana in his bloodstream when he died at about 4:40 a.m. May 27, the coroner’s report stated. Grenon’s body was found by railroad corporation employees after the engineer felt the westbound locomotive hit something on the tracks near Gum Lane and Pleasant Avenue. With no witnesses, Auburn Police have undertaken an investigation that has continued since then to indicate that Grenon’s death was an accident. “All indicators point to an accident,” Detective Scott Alford said Tuesday. “There’s nothing to indicate anything other than that at this time.” Grenon was temporarily homeless after losing the previous place he was staying but was actively seeking another location to live, family members said after his death. He had lived in Auburn since 1998. His mother, Joann Grenon of Auburn, said shortly after his death that her son used the railroad tracks as a walking route. Joann Grenon was not available for comment Tuesday. Alford said a group of Grenon’s friends told investigators that they had seen him walking on the tracks earlier in the morning close to where he was killed. The friends also indicated that they had seen no other people in the area at that time, Alford said. Alford said there is a slight curve in the track just before the accident site, making visibility difficult for pedestrians – who are legally considered trespassers on the Union Pacific right-of-way if they’re walking or riding. Aaron Hunt, Union Pacific spokesman, said Union Pacific and its employees try to reach out to communities about the dangers of the railroad right-of-way through the non-profit Operation Lifesaver safety program but the 61 fatalities due to right-of-way trespass last year in California were the highest in the nation. “People on the track think they can hear the train or feel the rumblings but that’s not always the case due to prevailing winds and the direction someone is walking,” Hunt said. “We encourage people never to think of the railroad as a pedestrian walkway or bike path.” Hunt said people using the right of way can be cited and judges have the leeway to issue fines that could run into the several hundreds of dollars. Fatalities on the tracks deeply affect railroad employees, he added. Peer counselors have annual training to work with Union Pacific employees involved in a collision. “Auburn is a longtime railroad town but even when residents live in and around the tracks, sometimes they forget how dangerous it can be,” Hunt said. Grenon didn’t drive a motor vehicle but, in comparison, his blood-alcohol level was more than twice the 0.08 percent legal limit for operation of a motor vehicle in California. Silas Meirs, law enforcement specialist with Mothers Against Drunk Drivers California, has said that anything above 0.2 percent is at a level considered to be a significant danger in terms of lowered reflexes and judgment abilities. ----------------------- Rules of the right-of-way • Railroad tracks, trestles, yards and equipment are private property. Walking or playing on them is illegal – trespassers are subject to arrest and fines.. • The only legal and safe place to cross tracks is at designated pedestrian or roadway crossings. Observe and obey all warning signs and signals. • Do not walk, run, cycle or operate all terrain vehicles (ATVs) on railroad tracks or rights-of-way or through tunnels. • Do not walk, jog, hunt, fish or bungee jump on railroad trestles. They are not designed to be sidewalks or pedestrian bridges – there is only enough clearance on the tracks for a train to pass. • Do not attempt to hop aboard railroad equipment at any time. A slip of the foot can cost a limb, or your life. Source: Operation Lifesaver