Police investigating apparent suicide by train in downtown Kent

First+responders+look+for+the+remains+of+a+person+who+died+near+the+railroad+tracks+next+to+the+Cuyahoga+River+in+downtown+Kent+on+Wednesday%2C+April+17%2C+2019.

First responders look for the remains of a person who died near the railroad tracks next to the Cuyahoga River in downtown Kent on Wednesday, April 17, 2019.

Brandon Bounds

Update as of April 21: This story was edited to include additional information regarding Geiger. 

Update as of April 19: The Portage County Coroner’s Office released on Friday afternoon the identity of the man who was struck and killed by a train Wednesday night. The story was updated to reflect the update. 

The Portage County Coroner’s Office on Friday afternoon released the name of the man who was struck and killed by a train in downtown Kent late Wednesday evening. 

The man, identified as 48-year-old Dennis Geiger of Canton, is believed to have died by suicide, according to an ongoing investigation by the Kent Police Department. 

Officials from the Kent police and fire departments responded to a call at 11:15 p.m. near Treno Ristorante and the West Main Street bridge along the Cuyahoga River. 

A train conductor informed police of the incident, according to a statement made by Kent police.

Geiger had two prior convictions for drug trafficking. He made national headlines in 2003 after he was arrested in South Dakota for transporting 501 pounds of marijuana from California to Ohio, according to the Rapid City Journal. 

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is available 24/7 at 1-800-273-8255 and online at suicidepreventionlifeline.org.

If you need immediate help or are experiencing a mental health crisis, call the Coleman Professional Services 24/7 helpline for Portage County at 1-877-796-3555 or 330-296-3555.

Brandon Bounds is an assigning editor. Contact him at [email protected].

Lyric Acquino contributed to this reporting.