A devastating string of events unfolded in South Philadelphia on Sunday as two lives were claimed on the SEPTA Broad Street Line in separate incidents, with one individual fatally struck by a train and another tragically electrocuted after making contact with the electrified third rail. NBC Philadelphia reported that an unidentified man was pronounced dead after he was struck by the train near the Oregon Avenue subway station at approximately 6:15 p.m., pronounced deceased shortly thereafter at 6:23 p.m.; the grim occurrence is currently under investigation by local authorities.
Meanwhile, another man was electrocuted on the northbound tracks at the Ellsworth Federal station; according to a witness interview by Action News, the victim was seen skateboarding on the platform before the tragic fall onto the tracks "I was on the train and a guy was skateboarding down there and he fell," described Carlos Torres, of North Philadelphia, "y the time everybody realized he was down there, he was already gone. None of us could touch him because if we did, we could have been electrocuted, too."
The Philadelphia Inquirer provided details of the first accident, verifying that the train was moving southbound when it struck the man at the Oregon Avenue Station around the same aforementioned time of 6:15 p.m., and shortly thereafter, the incident left the individual no longer among the living.
Adding to the series of subway misfortunes, earlier that day, a separate incident took place where a SEPTA train collided with a barrier at the Norristown Transit Center around 9:45 a.m., resulting in injuries to four passengers and the train operator, although there was no derailment, SEPTA officials noted this alarming event and it was stated by Scott Sauer, in a piece by Action News, that the National Transportation Safety Board has taken an investigative stance saying "We'll talk to the operator, obviously. We're going to inspect the cars, inspect the track and infrastructure. We're going to learn what's functioning the way we intend it and the way it might not," in pursuit of uncovering the underlying issues leading to the accident.
