The quiet evening commute was shattered in Natick, Massachusetts, on Monday when two individuals were fatally struck by a Commuter Rail train. According to the MBTA Transit Police Superintendent Richard Sullivan, both victims were pronounced dead at the scene. Their ages and identities were not released immediately, and it remains unclear if both or one of them were on bicycles at the time of the incident, as reported by NBC Boston.
Commuters had to unexpectedly adjust their plans as the Framingham/Worcester Line came to a standstill. Delays and cancellations rippled through the train schedule, impacting travelers for hours. A witness near the scene recounted to WCVB how a man apparently tried to assist a woman near the tracks. "He picked up her backpack, she had fallen down, he was trying to pick her up, and then all of the sudden, the train was stopped, and they were both deceased," the witness said.
The Middlesex District Attorney's Office has stated that no foul play is suspected in the tragic event. The investigation, which involves MBTA Transit Police and officials from the district attorney's office, is active and ongoing. A bike could be seen lying beside the tracks in aerial footage provided by local news, amongst numerous evidence markers. The proximity of a children's bicycle park to where the incident occurred compounded the tragedy, as some kids reportedly witnessed the fatal event.
Service disruptions continued into the night with MBTA officials working to gradually restore the rail line to operation. The agency informed the public to expect, through multiple updates, significant delays despite both tracks being cleared for service around 8:30 p.m. According to Boston.com, some trains were permitted to run on a single track between Wellesley Farms and West Natick before full service was resumed, but the ramifications of the day's events were felt long after the incident with continuing delays and cancellations.
One poignant reflection came from a commuter who preferred to remain unnamed, expressing concern for the train driver involved in the incident. "I just feel bad for the train driver, he's got to live with that," the individual said to WCVB. The sentiment underscores the often-overlooked trauma that such incidents inflict not just on witnesses and victims' acquaintances, but also on those working on the rail lines themselves. They are tasked with resuming their daily work in the aftermath of a harrowing tragedy.
