Chester community mourns after two children fatally struck by Amtrak train

[mahatmakanejeeves]

1. D.C.-bound Amtrak train kills two minors on the tracks in Chester, Pa.

D.C.-bound Amtrak train kills two minors on the tracks in Chester, Pa.

By Antonio Olivo
April 30, 2023 at 11:29 a.m. EDT

Two juveniles who were on a train track in Chester, Pa., on Saturday were struck and killed by a D.C.-bound Amtrak train, police officials there said. ... Train 161, heading to D.C. from New York, struck the minors at 4:29 p.m. Saturday, Amtrak said. ... None of the 368 passengers or crew members on board suffered injuries, the company said. The passengers were transferred to another train to continue their journey.



Amtrak personnel help passengers board a new train Saturday after their original train, headed from New York to Washington, struck and killed two juveniles on the tracks in Chester, Pa. (Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post)

Chester city police were investigating the incident Sunday and had not released the children’s identities or ages.

In a statement, Amtrak cautioned against trespassing on train tracks. ... “Anyone not authorized to be on railroad property, including using the tracks as a ‘shortcut’ or not heeding the warnings of the approaching train, is trespassing as they are on the property without a lawful reason to do so,” the statement said.

By Antonio Olivo
Antonio Olivo covers government, politics and other issues in Northern Virginia. He has also reported from Afghanistan and Mexico after joining The Washington Post in 2013. Twitter https://twitter.com/aolivo

2 struck, killed by southbound Amtrak train in Delaware County; Community in mourning

There is no word yet on either of the victims' identities.

By 6abc Digital Staff and Bob Brooks WPVI logo
Saturday, April 29, 2023 11:22PM

CHESTER, Pennsylvania (WPVI) -- Two people were killed after being struck by an Amtrak train in Chester, Delaware County on Saturday afternoon. ... It happened around 4:30 p.m. on the Amtrak tracks near the 400 block of Wilson Street. ... Officials say the two victims were struck and killed by the 161 Amtrak train heading southbound to Washington D.C. ... The train came to a stop several blocks later at Highland Avenue, according to officials. ... There is no word yet on either of the victims' identities.

Officials have also not confirmed the ages of the victims, however, Action News spoke with a woman who says she saw a group of children on the train tracks shortly before the crash. ... She says she tried to urge them to leave the tracks.

"There was about five, or six, or seven of them. It was a pack of children on the track," recalled Tracey from Chester. "We were getting out of the car and I said, 'Oh, look at them children up there on that track.' I said, 'Ya'll need to come down off that track,' and they just looked, and I said 'Ya'll come down before you have an accident,' and they just laughed and went about their business."

"I just wish the children would have listened," Tracey continued, "and I'm just so sorry."

Authorities are still investigating the incident.

{snip}