Man struck, killed by SMART train in Santa Rosa identified

A Santa Rosa man who was struck and killed by the SMART train on Friday was identified by authorities Monday as 66-year-old Martin Krshul.

Krshul was hit by a southbound Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit train on Friday in northwest Santa Rosa near the San Miguel Road track crossing. The death - the fourth on the rail line in a 16-day span - has been ruled a suicide, based on a review of video from the train.

Witnesses saw Krshul near the tracks shortly before 3 p.m. before the train arrived, Sonoma County sheriff’s officials said. The rail crossing arms were down and the train’s horn blasted several times before it struck Krshul, who was pronounced dead at the scene.

Two days earlier, Keith Marcum was struck and killed by a northbound SMART train near the Scenic Avenue crossing in an unincorporated area north of Rohnert Park. Authorities determined the July 9 death was also intentional.

Marcum, 68, was arrested in May on suspicion of sexually and physically abusing disabled children and adults at his in-home care facility in Rohnert Park.

Krshul’s death was the eighth on the train tracks since SMART began commuter rail service from San Rafael to Sonoma County airport in August 2017. Three have been ruled accidents and five are suspected suicides.

You can reach Staff Writer Alexandria Bordas at 707-521-5337 or alexandria.bordas@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @CrossingBordas.