Two teenagers, a 14-year-old girl and a 16-year-old boy, were killed after being struck by a UP Express train in Toronto
On Monday night, two teens, a 16-year-old boy and a 14-year-old girl, were struck and killed by a packed Toronto airport commuter train named UP Express. The train with over 200 people heading toward the airport ran over and crushed the teens on a stretch of tracks between stations.
A provincial agency named Metrolinx runs the train between Toronto Pearson Airport and downtown Union Station. The chief operating officer for Metrolinx, Martin Gallagher told that it was a pathetic incident.
Keri Fernandes, Toronto police Inspector told reporters that an ongoing investigation could not reveal why the teens were on the tracks. Whether there was any conspiracy or criminal activity involved is yet to be unveiled.
Keri Fernandes said that the investigation is going on. According to her, Police responded to the mishap after getting reports of the accident shortly after 10 p.m. near Weston Road and Eglinton Avenue West. The first report as a 911 call came on behalf of the train operators.
The incident was pathetic and shocking to both- the victims’ families and the persons who operated the train at that time.
Metrolinx, the provincial agency, said that the train was held for two hours with passengers on board for police investigation. Then the passengers were freed and allowed to get down at Mount Dennis station. Throughout the night, UP Express trains were suspended. The suspension was withdrawn until Tuesday morning. Bus services were the only means of surface transportation for that night (Monday) until the train service resumed after Tuesday morning.
Metrolinx’s chief safety and security officer, Gallagher said that the agency’s paramount interest is to manage and restore the mental health of the families of the victims and persons involved in the train. The operators of the UP express would be kept off work for a specific period. He added that Metrolinx with its long and large network would try its best to refrain people from crossing railway lines.
