Crime & Safety

SEPTA Train Kills Man in Haverford

It happened about 3:20 p.m. at the Penfield station on the Norristown High Speed Line.

A 49-year-old man was struck and killed by a SEPTA train Tuesday afternoon in Haverford, an agency representative told Patch.

The man, whose name SEPTA is withholding pending notification of his family, was on the outbound tracks of the Norristown High Speed Line at the Penfield station, about 4 feet below the platform, SEPTA director of media relations Jerri Williams said.

The conductor was unable to stop the train in time, and the man was hit about 3:20 p.m. A medical examiner pronounced the man dead at the scene soon afterward, Williams said.

Train service was suspended immediately and resumed about 6:20 p.m., according to a post from SEPTA's Twitter account at that time. Shuttle buses had been transporting travelers between the Wynnewood station and the 69th Street station in Upper Darby.

The man was known to SEPTA workers as someone who was often seen at the 69th Street station, Williams said. It was not clear why he was on the tracks.

John F. Viola, deputy chief of police in Haverford Township, said investigators are treating the incident as an accident and have found nothing suspicious to indicate otherwise. Viola said township police had turned the investigation over to SEPTA police.

Patch editor Tom Sunnergren contributed to this report.


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