Brian Johnson’s girlfriend and friends firmly believe his death was an accident, not a suicide.

Johnson, 37, a former Hope Haven resident, died when an eastbound freight train hit him Friday night at the intersection of Fourth Street and Lincoln Highway.

“If you knew Brian, it was accidental,” said Hope Haven east-side resident manager Leslie Hunter.

DeKalb police are not sure if Johnson was alone when he was near the train tracks at about 9:30 p.m., said DeKalb Police Lt. Jim Kayes.

DeKalb County Coroner Dennis Miller said his office is waiting for the results of a toxicology report.

Toya Jones, transitional program coordinator at Hope Haven, 1145 Rushmoore Drive, said she assumed Johnson was walking to the McDonald’s at 545 E. Lincoln Highway to visit his girlfriend of four years, Noelle Stanberry.

Stanberry said Johnson visited her several times every night that she worked. She had last seen him between 4:30 and 5 p.m.

Stanberry said his last words to her were that he loved her and he would see her later.

At work, less than two blocks from the intersection, Stanberry said she was expecting Johnson to visit again when she became aware of the accident.

“I just hoped it wasn’t Brian,” she said.

Stanberry, a Hope Haven resident, sat in the shelter’s small lobby Monday evening as residents streamed in and out, exchanging sympathetic glances and sometimes stopping to embrace her.

Johnson loved to fish in the Kishwaukee River. Stanberry held her hands about 18 inches apart to demonstrate the size of the northern pike Johnson had caught the week before. She said he brought the fish, still alive, to Hope Haven.

Hunter remembered how excited Johnson was.

“He was in his glory when he brought that fish in here,” she said.

Johnson’s last lived at Stadium Inn, 1321 W. Lincoln Highway, and did construction work, Stanberry said. He had lived at Hope Haven on and off for the past eight years, but in recent weeks, Johnson had been living on the streets.

In spite of having very little, Stanberry said he would help anyone if he could.

Johnson spent Friday fixing the brakes on Stanberry’s car at Hope Haven and helping carry in donations of food and clothes, she said.

“He was very happy Friday.” Stanberry said. “He was in such a good mood.”

Johnson rode his bike everywhere, Hunter said. He had recently found a bike for Stanberry. The two planned to spend Saturday fixing the bike for her to ride, Stanberry said.

Johnson was an all-around handyman who regularly lent his talents to Hope Haven improvement projects, Hunter said.

Johnson is survived by his parents and siblings in Kirkland and a son in California. A private service was held last night at Quiram-Kirkland Funeral Home in Kirkland.

Stanberry said she is planning a grave-side memorial service for Wednesday, though details were not available.