Red Wing native struck, killed by train in Denver

Harry Exner, a Red Wing native living in Colorado, died Tuesday after a light rail train struck him in Denver.

According to Colorado media reports, Denver police were called to the scene at about 2 p.m. Tuesday for a man struck by a train.

Posts on Exner’s Facebook page continued rolling in Wednesday afternoon, where friends mourned the man they knew as adventurous and quick with a joke.

“He had a way of making everyone in a room laugh,” friend Ryan Kesti, a Red Wing native attending college in Michigan, told the R-E Wednesday. “I don’t remember any day not seeing a smile on his face.”

Sondi Blee, a friend of the family, said the Exners – though deeply saddened by the loss – were heartened to learn of the extensive outpouring on Facebook.

“They’re just so thankful for all of his friends,” Blee said. “I think it does bring them peace knowing that he was so well liked.”

She said Exner’s death was “a tragic accident.”.

According to Denver media reports, a transportation spokesman said Exner, a member of Red Wing High School's class of 2009, was trespassing in a fenced-in restricted area at the time of the collision. Exner was reportedly trying to beat the train on foot.

The spokesman said it was not clear how Exner got to the track.

Blee said Exner, a motocross competitor, was attending school in Colorado to become a radiology technician.

“Everyone was really proud of him,” she said. “He was just loving life out there.”

Exner leaves behind his parents, Bob and Renae, and brothers Cole and Jake.

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