Handcuffed Man Hit By 2 Trains (eeeoooh)

http://www.foxnews.com/wires/2008Oct01/0,4670,TrainsBody,00.html

Oh man - that’s gotta hurt.

There seem to be a lot of questions as to why he was there in the first place.

I find it curious that the crew of the first train that apparently hit him didn’t know it at the time. One conclusion that could be reached from that was that he either ran from a hiding place (suicide) or was pushed from such a location (homocide).

I think this poor guy was murdered. If you are going to intentionally commit suicide, then why would you be wearing a pair of handcuffs??

CANADIANPACIFIC2816

My bet is MURDER, and likely gang related in that neighborhood (I was born in Mt. Vernon and know how bad that city has gotten over the past fifty years or so).

Wow.

My dad used to work in Mt. Vernon back in the early 70s. Didn’t seem so bad back then, but I can imagine that things have changed a lot in 35+ years.

Handcuffs certainly make it look like an execution type of crime. If so, I hope the police do catch the maggots that did this.

My friend texted me about this while I was on the train home from New York today, I said the same thing…If it wasn’t foul play, why would he be in handcuffs?

There is not enough information to draw any conclusions as yet, but as a retired lawman I can tell you that it is possible, for whatever reason, to handcuff yourself.

It only takes a second before your train has entered and exited an area. The crew could have been occupied and had not noticed the man. There are many times when you get occupied on something and even though you are looking right at the person, your brain will not register that a person is there for a second.

A few years ago, the Amtrak hit a guy not far from here. They watched him as he crossed over the tracks and the engines passed him. Somehow, one of the trailing passenger cars got him, and the crew never knew about it. A few minutes later, a freight on the adjoining track found him and reported it. Just because a person is killed by a train doesn’t mean that the engine did it.

If you do not see the person (dark out, person hiding, glare from city lights, etc), it is quite possible to hit someone and not know it. After all, a 200# body does not make a lot of noise when hit, nor is it easy to feel the impact over the vibration and noise of movement.

No question. As has been mentioned, many pedestrian deaths on the tracks are suicides. My point there is that this person apparently wasn’t standing/walking in the middle of the tracks where the crew may have been able to see him before the collision. It would appear that, masking by lights, etc, notwithstanding, he made contact with the train after he was out of view of the head end.

Of course, the question has also been raised regarding whether he was even alive when the first train hit him. All they say is that there is evidence that it did.

It’s not all that uncommon for someone to bind themselves before committing suicide… they want to make certain that if they lose their nerve at the last moment that they won’t be able to extricate themselves from the fatal circumstances that they have set up.

The autopsy report, combined with the examination of the fellow’s background and recent history, should be conclusive. One does not handcuff someone and push them in front of a train against their will without having them struggle mightily, so other bruises or marks on the body will be significant, as will the toxicology. (I used to work homicides…)

Either way (homicide or suicide), the RR might still find itself subject to lawsuit for “failure to restrict access to the dangerous location” (or similar phrasing). It’s tough to be a large property owner who is seen as wealthy… and it is also tough to explain some suicides to family members.

Bill