Teen Killed After Falling On SIR Tracks

An 18-year-old Staten Island man was killed last night after he jumped in front of a Staten Island Railroad train at the Huguenot station. Police say his death was most likely suicide, but they had no details as to why the teen would want to take his own life. An unidentified woman at the scene reportedly shouted, “He’s dead! ... My baby! My baby! Who was he with? Where were his friends? They are supposed to take care of him!"

Police have identified the victim as Kyle Jensen, and say the train was traveling between 20 and 30 mph at the time. Nobody else was injured in the incident. Officials say the number of people who have fallen or jumped into the subway tracks has been unusually high this year. Just last month, a man was killed after falling into the tracks while attempting to walk between cars.

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By Jaya Saxena in News on October 13, 2010 4:16 PM

Comments [rss]

John L

What is going on in Staten Island?

Rest in peace Kyle Jensen.

jaycjay

"Teen Killed After Falling On SIR Tracks"

"An 18-year-old Staten Island man was killed last night after he jumped in front of a Staten Island Railroad train"

Which was it? The linked articles all say he jumped, so I guess I'll go with that, in spite of the headline's implication that it was an accident.

ocm123

If you want to get technical, generally, one proceeds to fall after jumping, no? Obviously, a person can fall intentionally.

jaycjay

But just as obviously: When someone kills themselves by placing themselves in the path of an approaching train, we -- speakers of the English language -- do not normally say that they "fell" in front the train. To do so is simply confusing or even misleading.

Play "technical" word games all you like; good luck getting your message across to your audience with that approach. I will continue to prefer, and encourage, usage that communicates clearly and accurately.