Suicide by Train Ruled in Teen's Death

A 19-year-old Wilson man died Sunday after being hit by a Norfolk-Southern Train near Island Park Road along the Lehigh River in Glendon, according to Pennsylvania state police at the Belfast barracks.

The man's legs were severed, said Easton Police. He died of blunt force trauma injuries at St. Luke's University Hospital in Fountain Hill. His death has been ruled a suicide by the Northampton County Coroner, according to a Lehigh Valley Live report.

His name has not been released pending notification of his next of kin.

A man in his 20s was also found killed on railroad tracks Sunday in Weissport, Carbon County, according to a Morning Call report.

A national suicide prevention hotline is available at 1-800-273-8255

Train deaths make up about 3 percent of all suicides in the United States, according to the Federal Railroad Administration, which released a report last year saying trespasser suicides are a growing problem. The administration is studying whether fences and other barriers can be a more effective deterrent.

About 15 people in the Philadelphia area committed suicide by train from 2006 to 2011, according to a Philly.com report that noted how traumatic the tragedy can be for train operators driving a 400-ton locomotive.

2012 marked the first year the railroad administration attempted to collect data on the number of suicide train deaths. Rail lines are now required to include the medical examiners’ manner-of-death findings in information submitted to the Federal Railroad Administration.