Davis police are investigating a suspicious death that occurred Thursday on the outskirts of the downtown area.
Lt. Ton Phan said dispatchers received a call shortly after 1 p.m. that a middle-aged man, believed to be a transient, “was down and barely breathing near the railroad tracks behind Whole Foods,” in the Davis Commons shopping center at First and E streets.
Emergency personnel responded and pronounced the man dead at the scene, Phan said. The Yolo County coroner’s office has determined his identity, but had not released his name as of this morning pending notification of his family.
Phan said coroner’s officials who responded to the scene determined that the man had sustained blunt-force trauma to his body, though it was unclear whether the source was a fall or other means. He was not struck by a train, however.
An autopsy was planned for today.
Although it’s possible that a health condition led to the man’s death, police planned to investigate and process the scene as if it were a homicide “in the event the coroner ultimately rules it so,” Phan said. Detectives planned to interview possible witnesses surrounding the scene.
Anyone with information about this investigation is urged to contact the Davis Police Department at 530-747-5400.