ROYALTON, Vt. — A driver who died after being hit by an Amtrak train had crossed the tracks, backed into a driveway to turn around, and was attempting to cross back when he was hit, investigators in Vermont said Wednesday.

The crash happened at about 11:30 a.m. Tuesday in the town of Royalton as the sports utility vehicle was crossing the tracks at an intersection not marked with gates, police said.

The driver, the only occupant of the vehicle, was identified as Thomas Fennell, 23, a Vermont Law School student from Pittsburgh.

“He was a nice kid, really sweet, and always had a smile,” his landlord Geo Honigford told the Valley News in West Lebanon, N.H.

Anyone with further knowledge of the crash is asked to call Royalton Police.

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