ATTLEBORO -- A 23-year-old man was struck and killed by a northbound Amtrak train near Pond Street Sunday, prompting calls from residents who live near the railroad tracks for more fencing.

Kerry Richardson, a Pawtucket resident, was hit in the area just south of Pond Street about 12:45 p.m. by Northeast Direct Train 170 that started in Washington, D.C., and had departed from the train station in Providence shortly before, according to an Amtrak spokesman.

Witnesses said they heard the train engineer blowing the whistle and applying the brakes. However, spokesman Russ Hall said the engineer could not stop the train in time to avoid hitting the man.

Hall said he did not know how fast the train was traveling at the time. A train traveling about 100 mph takes about a mile to stop, he said, making it difficult for the engineer to stop in time when a person is spotted on tracks.

City police are investigating the accident with the Bristol County District Attorney's office. Police referred questions about the probe and the accident to the DA's office. No one at the office was available Sunday and no one could be reached at the office this morning.

The 92 passengers on the train, which was scheduled to arrive in Boston at 1:25 p.m., were transferred to an MBTA commuter rail train to continue to Boston.

Amtrak says it is in compliance with a Federal Railroad Administration decree to fence 29 locations between New Haven, Conn., and Boston and will install additional fencing as federal money becomes available.

The tragedy prompted Kathleen Lyons to declare, `` It's just a matter of time'' before one of the 17 children in her Wright Circle neighborhood becomes a victim because of inadequate fencing in the area.

`` Do they have to wait before a 2-year-old is hit?'' Lyons said.

Lyons said two years ago she called local, state and federal officials and Amtrak over a six-month period. Amtrak officials came down and said the area was on a list for fencing.

`` It should have been harder for that man to get up there,'' said Lyons of Sunday's accident. She said she is now writing to officials with her concerns.

`` I just want them to put up fencing, that's all. Anywhere where there are children,'' said the mother of three children, ages 1, 3 and 10.

Lyons said there is a 6-foot stockade fence that the developer of her neighborhood erected. But the fence has fallen or has been knocked down and there are gaps in fencing in other areas, she said.

Another resident, Karen Parks, told television reporters that she was concerned that there was not enough fencing in the area. `` It made me feel like my heart just stopped for a second,'' she said.

Persis Rickes, who is staying on Wright Circle with her daughter and son-in-law, said the trains travel fast when they go by the neighborhood.

`` If I had little children I would worry about it. You know how little kids are,'' said Rickes.

Walking on or near railroad tracks is considered trespassing and several people have been arrested by Amtrak and city police in the last few years.

Six people have been struck and killed by trains in Attleboro in the last six years.