Police identify Oconomowoc bicyclist who was killed in Amtrak train accident on Aug. 20

OCONOMOWOC - Authorities have released the name of the bicyclist who died after he was struck by a passing Amtrak train in Oconomowoc on Aug. 20 .

Peter Roschtscha of Oconomowoc was pronounced dead at the scene, the railroad crossing in the 200 block of Silver Lake Street. He was formally identified as the victim Monday, six days following the incident, which has been classified as accidental.

According to two news releases, police were notified of the accident at about 1:18 p.m., resulting in an investigation and rescue effort that also included the Western Lakes Fire District and police personnel from both Amtrak and Canadian Pacific, which owns the tracks used by the passenger railroad company.

Authorities provided no additional information about the accident. Most of the additional detail came from an Amtrak representative and passenger who both spoke with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Marc Magliari, the Amtrak spokesperson, said the incident, involving Amtrak's new Borealis service from Chicago to St. Paul, Minnesota, was delayed about three hours "after making contact with someone trespassing across the tracks." According to Amtrak, 179 passengers were onboard, and none were hurt.

Will Hanson, a passenger from Minneapolis who was seated near the front of the train, said he spoke with an Amtrak employee, who told him the barrier arms were down at the intersection at the time of the accident.

Authorities did not include the age of the victim and did not immediate reply to a request for that information. According to unconfirmed online sources, Roschtscha was in his mid-70s.

Contact reporter Jim Riccioli at james.riccioli@jrn.com .

Erik S. Hanley ( erik.hanley@jrn.com ) contributed to this report.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Police identify Oconomowoc bicyclist who was killed in Amtrak train accident on Aug. 20