A man who was struck and killed by a train in California before his leg was allegedly eaten by a homeless man has been identified.
Horacio Ayala Peñaloza, 48, died after being struck by an Amtrak train which instantly killed him and severed his leg in Wasco in March of this year.
According to a coroner’s office report obtained by KBAK Peñaloza died from multiple blunt force head injuries, with his death ruled an accident.
Following the incident, stunned onlookers captured Rosendo Tellez, 27, picking up his severed leg, sniffing it and waving it around and allegedly started eating it.
Last month, Tellez pleaded no contest to four charges including removal of human remains and was sentenced to one year in jail.
Tellez was originally arrested on misdemeanor charges of removing body parts from an area that is not a cemetery. He also faced charges of bringing contraband into a jail facility.
Witness footage captured Tellez walking away from the area while holding what appeared to be Ayala-Peñaloza’s leg from the accident.
He then bent over and sniffed the leg, wiped his mouth, and swung it around while officers closed in on the sickening episode.
A work crew laying concrete near the station watched the seen unfold, with worker Jose Ibarra telling WPDE of the alleged cannibalism.
Ibarra told the outlet: ‘I’m not sure from where, but he walked this way and he was waving a person’s leg.
‘And he started chewing on it over there, he was biting it and he was hitting it against the wall and everything.’
A GoFundMe was created to help the Peñaloza family cover funeral costs and raised just over $1,000.
Tellez was apprehended by police without resistance. Authorities discovered he had outstanding warrants for his arrest.
Burlington Northern Santa Fe, the involved railroad company, confirmed one of their trains was involved in the collision.
According to their preliminary findings, Peñaloza was standing on the platform when he was struck by the train.