A 16-year-old male is dead after being struck by a train at the Susquehanna-Dauphin subway station.
SEPTA Transit Police told The Temple News that the believed-to-be Asian male, whose name has not been released, was a student at Philadelphia Military Academy at Elverson and had jumped in front of the southbound train just before noon.
While the tragedy is still under investigation, the victim appears to have died by suicide, said SEPTA officials.
The Broad Street Line trains were stopped between Erie and Girard stations from the time of the incident until around 2:45 p.m. Shuttle buses were provided while SEPTA officials and police cleared the scene.
Classmates from PMAE, which is located on 13th Street between Diamond Street and Susquehanna Avenue, said the victim was typically smiling but had been seen crying today in school.
“He was cool, laid-back, usually no apparent problems,” said Rahkim Summers, a junior at PMAE. “He even got good grades.”
Sources close to the victim reported that his girlfriend, who does not attend PMA, had recently broken up with him.
“I didn’t know his girlfriend personally, but I always saw them together at the mall,” said Shenika Walker, a sophomore at PMAE. “They always seemed happy.
“He was always happy and smiling and showed no signs of being depressed or anything,” Walker said. “This still hasn’t hit me yet – it hasn’t hit any of us.”
Anyone who is suicidal may receive immediate help by logging on to suicide.org or by calling the Philadelphia Behavioral Health Suicide/Crisis Intervention Hotline at 215-686-4420.
Maria Zankey can be reached at maria.zankey@temple.edu.
He was one of my friends. I always see him everyday on the train. I can’t believe that he’s gone. It makes me sad to think that he had problems cause he was so easy-going and calm.