One person is dead and another has life-threatening injuries after being hit by a train in Thompson early Wednesday morning.
The report came in at 1:23 a.m. Wednesday that a pedestrian was hit by a train in the area of Buckley Hill Road and River Street in Thompson and firefighters, an ambulance and paramedics who responded realized that two people had been hit by the train and had serious injuries, officials said.
Morgan Nordby, 26, of Thompson, was pronounced dead at the scene at 1:42 a.m., according to Quinebaug Valley Emergency Communications and state police.
The other person, 27-year-old Brittany Lafleche, of Thompson, was transported to UMass Memorial in Worcester and has life-threatening injuries, according to state police.
State police said representatives from Providence and Worcester Railroad responded to the scene.
Officials from Genesee & Wyoming Railroad Services, Inc., which owns or leases 122 freight railroads worldwide, including Providence and Worcester Railroad, said the train sounded the horn for the crossing and the crew used the emergency brake once they saw the pedestrians, but they could not stop in time.
“This is obviously a terrible tragedy, and counseling is being provided for the train crew,” the railroad services company said in a statement.
U.S. & World
They added that employee volunteers from the company’s railroads gave hundreds of Operation Lifesaver presentations last year to thousands of schoolchildren, school bus and truck drivers, law enforcement personnel, first responders and other people to discuss the importance of rail-crossing safety and never trespassing on railroad tracks.
Train service was stopped at 1:30 a.m. and police cleared the scene at 6:30 a.m.
