Friend was hit and killed by Amtrack in San Mateo. Family can't pay for funeral.

The Amtrak ?Capitol? train was traveling northbound at 76 miles per hour, which is the typical speed for a train going through the area.

The collision took place on the tracks at the intersection of Hesperian and Springlake Drive around 8 p.m.

?He was walking on the east side of Hesperian when he walked around the back side of the arms and just tried to beat the train,? said Sergeant Randy Hudson of the San Leandro police. ?At this particular location, when the arms are down you actually have to walk off the pavement and onto the gravel to get around them and that?s what he did.?

Hudson said that the arms were down, the train?s bells were sounding, the lights were flashing, and the conductor had activated the train?s horn at the time of the accident.

He added that Poynter was found with a MP3 player and headphones on and that may have affected his judgment as to how quickly the train was approaching. Poynter was declared dead on the scene by the Alameda County Coroner?s office.

According to Hudson, three independent witnesses that were stopped in their cars at the crossing saw Poynter walk behind the lowered guard arms and attempt to run across the tracks before the train reached the crossing.

Poynter was a full-time musician who went by the name ?KDoe? professionally. He was a part of a group of musicians called the ?Hip Hop Congress? who partnered with Oakland Mayor Ron Dellums to use music in anti-violence campaigns for young people.

Poynter has recently decided to give up his 9-to-5 job in order to focus on supporting his adoptive mother with his music.

?He did a lot of things for the community to make progress with hip-hop. He was recently in a march to stop violence on the capitol building in Sacramento and he was a part of the Live Earth environmental festival this summer,? said friend and fellow musician D. Labri. ?He was my best friend and my spiritual brother. He had so many plans for the future. We were going to travel the word and make music.?

?This was supposed to be a big year for him,? added Labri, who said that Poynter?s music has recently been featured on MTV as well as part of a Barack Obama support song that was on CNN.

?I could go to him for anything. He taught me a lot and would soak up new things like a sponge,? said Labri, who added that he plans on continuing to release Poynter?s music. ?He was very eager to touch people and get his voice heard. Everybody he came in contact with will have positive memories of him.?

There were no injuries to any of the passengers who were traveling on the Capitol Corridor route, according to Amtrak spokeswoman Verna Graham. The passengers stayed on the train for an hour and 46 minutes before the track was declared clear by the coroner?s office.

Poynter?s death is the fourth train fatality in San Leandro in the past six months, in addition to two other train fatalities in San Lorenzo last year.