SEPTA Train Accident

SEPTA Train Accident: Police say man killed by SEPTA train was texting

Police say a man killed by a commuter train in suburban Philadelphia was texting a friend when he was struck while walking on the tracks.

On Monday afternoon a Jenkintown young man, just 20 years old, was hit by a train on SEPTA’s West Trenton line.  Police identified the victim, who authorities say was struck and killed by a SEPTA train while texting and walking along the tracks.

Authorities say the 20 year old man was walking on the train tracks to meet a friend at a local Wawa. The direction he was walking did not allow him to see oncoming trains.  He was also texting while walking to the Wawa.

The young man’s grandparents are devastated by what happened.  They said they will come to grips with what happened but that is not going to happen anytime soon.  “I gotta be whole, I gotta keep my faith. I gotta believe that God is gonna get me through this and I will be able to move on,” said his grieving grandmother.  The victim’s grandmother told reporters she wants everyone to know what the world lost.  “He’s very loving, he was very caring. He cared about everybody and he would do anything to help you in anyway.”  The father of the young man said that he cannot get out of his mind the image of what happened to his son.  “It was killing me just thinking about it. I was lying in the bed all night, staring at the ceiling, just trying to picture him getting hit.”

The train engineer saw the young man on the tracks and blew the caution horn repetitively, to no avail.  The young man did not turn around or acknowledged that he knew the train was coming.  Deputy Chief John Livingwood of the Abington Township Police Department stated that the train conductor never said the victim “flinched, turned around, looked at him or indicated that he knew the train was coming.”  The train’s engineer attempted locked the brakes but was unable to stop the train in time.

Washington was struck and pronounced dead at the scene.  Police hope this case will shed light on the dangers of walking by train tracks and distracted texting.

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