MARCH 13, 2015
LEBANON, PENNSYLVANIA
A freight train hit and killed a 16-year-old boy Friday
morning in Lebanon.
The incident happened shortly before 7 a.m. at the railroad
crossing on N 7th Street.
"Preliminary investigation determined that a westbound
train struck the pedestrian as he crossed the tracks north to south. A witness
indicated that the warning gates were operational and the pedestrian was struck
as he ran across the tracks," a Lebanon City police news release states.
Police have not released the victim's name. He was a student
in the Lebanon School District.
There were two Norfolk Southern crew members aboard the
train, which was headed to Harrisburg. Neither employee was injured.
Norfolk Southern crews tested the train signals at the
crossing after the accident, which is standard procedure.
The accident, along with a house fire from earlier in the
morning, led to the closure of Route 422 between 15th and 5th avenues in
Lebanon for several hours.
Police are looking for additional witnesses. If you saw
something, you are asked to contact the Lebanon City Police Department at
717-272-6611.
This is an obvious case of suicide by train. They have been happening all over the
US. It has been a harsh, very harsh
winter in the mid-Atlantic and northeast and some people have reached their
limits and they crack.