MISHAWAKA — The man struck and killed by a train Friday was a relatively new resident to St. Joseph County, having moved here after a release from prison last year.

Leo Holley, 44, was hit by a westbound train as he walked along the tracks near Main Street downtown about 11:13 a.m.

Police said Norfolk Southern employees reported Holley was walking west in-between the two tracks when he saw an eastbound train approach. Holley then began walking on the westbound tracks, but apparently didn’t hear the westbound train approaching from behind him.

Both Norfolk Southern engineers reported sounding their horns after spotting Holley, but said the man kept walking along the tracks as the train engineers tried unsuccessfully to stop.

Holley, who is from Fort Wayne, was released from the Miami Correctional Facility, located north of Kokomo, in 2008 for a felony drunken driving charge. On Dec. 31 of that year, he was arrested in South Bend on a drunken driving charge, and was convicted of being a habitual traffic offender.

St. Joseph County Jail records show Holley was arrested again in mid-July for violating parole. Two weeks after he was arrested, he was released from jail to the state’s parole system, where he was placed on home detention.

Police say a home-detention ankle bracelet was found on Holley’s body, but could offer no reason why the man, who lived in an apartment near downtown South Bend, was walking on the tracks.

Staff writer Dave Stephens:
dstephens@sbtinfo.com
(574) 235-6209