A 59-year-old man was struck and killed by a freight train in Washington state Wednesday after his electric wheelchair became stuck on the tracks.

Richard Geiger, a Puyallup resident, was killed in the collision that happened shortly after 2 p.m. at the North Meridian railroad crossing near 201 North Meridian Avenue in Puyallup, near the city's train station, the Puyallup Police Department said .

Geiger was stopped on the tracks when two people nearby tried to help free his wheelchair. However, they were unable to get him to safety before the train struck, police said.…