COLUMBUS, Ohio -- A man was fatally struck by a train late Wednesday, and police continued to investigate whether the same man was a suspect in an afternoon bank robbery.
NBC 4’s Tom Brockman reported with the FAST FACTS.
Columbus police and fire personnel were called to the area of Weber Road and Silver Drive on the city’s Northeast Side around 7:30 p.m. on reports of a pedestrian struck by a train.
The man CPD later identified as 32-year-old Louis E. Hermann III was pronounced dead at the scene.
Police said Hermann could have been a suspect in a bank robbery that happened about an hour-and-a-half earlier.
According to police, a suspect entered the National City Bank at 763 Neil Ave. shortly before 6 p.m. At the counter, he showed a handgun and demanded money from the teller. He fled the scene with an undetermined amount of money.
Authorities continued to investigate the fatal incident and whether Hermann was the robbery suspect.
The suspect was described as a white male who is about 25 to 35 years old, about 6 feet tall and weighs about 220 pounds. The suspect was wearing a grayish-blue baseball hat, a tan Carhart jacket with the hood up, aviator sunglasses and blue jeans.
Investigators found money and other evidence from the bank robbery in the vicinity where the individual was struck by the train, according to the FBI.
In addition, witnesses to the robbery told investigators they saw red dye stain on the man’s hands, indicating he might have been involved in another robbery sometime within the last few days, the FBI said.
Authorities said Wednesday’s robbery was the city’s 23rd during 2009.
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Anyone with information was asked to call CPD at 614-645-4545 or Central Ohio Crime Stoppers at 614-461-TIPS.
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