Man found dead near T tracks in Fenway area

A man was found dead along MBTA train tracks yesterday morning near a popular nightspot for clubgoers and college students.

Either a commuter or freight train struck the man, who wasn't carrying identification, said Joe Pesaturo, an MBTA spokesman. Transit officials were working to identify the victim and notify next of kin yesterday afternoon.

"Investigators believe he was killed instantly," Pesaturo said. "Now, they're working to identify which train and at what time this occurred."

"We have a deceased body, it appears that he's been struck by a train, but that's a preliminary assessment," said Sergeant Chris Maynard of the MBTA transit police. "We're still trying to figure out the time of death."

He said the man was black and in his 40s.

A crew of an inbound train spotted the man at about 8:45 a.m. His body had suffered multiple traumas and was found along the Framingham/Worcester commuter line, which runs from South Station to Worcester and mostly along the Mass. Pike. The MBTA closed both lines until about 1 p.m.

Maynard couldn't say whether the man had been hit by an incoming or outgoing train because the trains on each track run in both directions.

The accident occurred near the intersection of Lansdowne and Ipswich Street just behind Jillian's Boston, near Fenway Park. A rusty chain-link fence separates the nightclub from the commuter rail line.

Santon Correa unknowingly lined up his delivery truck with the accident scene to deliver produce to Jillian's shortly after 10 a.m. Correa said he saw police surrounding a body.

"I just saw him on the floor ," said Correa, who made several trips between his truck and the nightclub's third-floor kitchen. "When I jumped over to the dock, I saw the person and the police around, but I didn't know exactly what happened."

Maynard said the death remains under investigation.

April Simpson can be reached at asimpson@globe.com