Pedestrians struck by trains in Abington, Lansdale

ABINGTON TWP., Pa. - September 12, 2012

The first accident happened just before 3:30 p.m. on the Warminster Line, near the Ardsley Station, just south of Jenkintown Road in Glenside, Abington Township.

Officials say a 16-year-old boy was walking along the tracks when he was struck.

The teen was taken to Abington Memorial Hospital with serious injuries

Police believe he was wearing headphones and may not have heard the train approaching.

Meanwhile, SEPTA officials are investigating another train pedestrian accident in Lansdale.

At approximately 3:49 p.m., Lansdale police and medics were called to the station in the 100 block of Main Street for a report that a man was struck by a train coming in from Philadelphia which was stopping on the eastside loading platform.

Upon arriving, police found the male still under the train but conscious and alert.

He was treated by ambulance personnel and taken by helicopter to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania.

Witnesses at the scene told police that the male had scaled a fence separating the SEPTA property along Walnut Street and began walking in a perpendicular direction toward the tracks.

Witnesses said that the conductor sounded the train's horn, however, the male never stopped walking.

The conductor attempted an emergency stop and as the male crossed the tracks he threw a skateboard he was carrying up onto the train platform.

Witnesses say he appeared to begin an attempt to hoist himself onto the platform when he was struck by the left front of the lead train car.

He was then thrown to the ground and under the train which continued to come to an emergency stop.

Authorities say the victim suffered injuries to his head and ankle, but they did not appear life-threatening.

These accidents resulted in the suspension of the Lansdale/Doylestown Line for a while Wednesday afternoon and the cancellation of the Warminster Train #447.

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