Crime & Safety

MTA: Person Struck on Rosedale Train Track

Commuters were transferred to another train following the accident Tuesday morning. efficient

(UPDATED 12:50 p.m.) A person was struck by a MARC train around 7:30 a.m. Tuesday morning in the Rosedale area, according to the Maryland Transit Administration.

The train, which originated in Perryville, was heading southbound on the Penn Line and heading eventually to Washington, D.C. at the time of the accident, MTA spokesman Terry Owens said.

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The train has stopped south of . Passengers were transferred to an Amtrak train and the railroad is open, although investigators continued to remain on the scene, Owens said.

Owens said investigators are working on identifying the victim and determine how the person ended up on the tracks. Baltimore County police said the pedestrian was struck on a section of tracks near Northeast Creek Road and Schaefer Lane.

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He was declared dead at 7:44 a.m., police added.

Jeff Quinton, author of the Quintonreport.com blog and a Patch Blogger, commutes to Washington D.C. and was on the train at the time of the accident.

In an email to Patch, he reported that he heard slightly louder than usual "thud" around 7:15 a.m. and described it as "louder than noises you might sometime hear on a train."

"It was a really loud and horrifying sound which became even more horrifying when we were told what had happened," Quinton wrote. "Then the train started slowing down and some of the interior lights dimmed and we rolled to a stop. The crew announced we had hit a person walking on the tracks."

Another commuter, Angel Fiastro, shared a similar story.

"I was talking with another passenger when we were interrupted by what sounded like a loud, forceful 'whoosh,' which I realize now must have been the air brakes," she wrote in an email to Patch. "The lights and air conditioning went off for about 30 seconds as we rolled to what I’ll term a rather bumpy stop."

Fiastro said she felt the train's crew did an excellent job of informing passengers of what had occured and was efficient in moving them onto a new train that arrived in Washington by 9:10 a.m.

"I must stress the absolute professionalism and care that the Amtrak and MARC crew took with regards to the situation. They could not have handled it better or with more sensitivity," Fiastro wrote.

Owens said that that the MTA continues to stress that walking along the tracks is considered trespassing and people should stay away.

This is at least the to , although this accident did not occur along that span.

Those upgrades came following the January 2010 d, who was struck and killed as she walked along the tracks on he way to school.

"We can't stress enough the safety factor involved with walking on the tracks," Owens said. "People should avoid walking on the tracks and we will continue to educate people about the dangers involved."

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