A man driving in Derry today was killed when he either jumped or was ejected from his car, which then rolled onto train tracks and was struck by a train just before 7 p.m., police said.

Derry police Chief Randolph Glick said the man, whose identity has not been released, had just bought the car, a 1965 Pontiac GTO, today.

He was driving at a high rate of speed on Blair Way, which slopes toward the tracks, when he either jumped from the car or was ejected, said Chief Glick.

His car continued to roll through an alleyway and onto the tracks, where it was hit by a train. The man was not in the car when it was hit.

He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Chief Glick said he thought the man's car may have malfunctioned, suggesting that either his brakes failed or his accelerator became stuck.

Kerry Reed, who lives adjacent to the tracks, said he heard that the man hit his head on nearby house as he flew from the car.

"It just seems like right in here, things keep happening," he said.

In October, a Derry woman and her 2-year-old son were struck by a train and killed as she struggled to push his stroller across the same tracks.

A few months earlier, in July, Douglas Albright, 15, of South Greensburg, was struck by a Norfolk Southern train while crossing the tracks in the 100 block of East First Avenue.

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