Child killed by Amtrak train in Wayne
A child was struck and killed by an Amtrak train Sunday morning in Wayne.
The train was traveling from Pontiac and struck the child who was on the railroad tracks at Venoy and Michigan Avenue at 11:54 a.m..
Amtrak spokesman Steve Kulm said Train No. 353 was making a regularly scheduled trip carrying 92 passengers to Chicago. No injuries were reported aboard the train.
Wayne police remain at the scene conducting an investigation and no information had been released as of 3:15 p.m.
Kulm said the train is being held at the scene of the incident and another train traveling in the opposite direction has been held as well.
Matt Gallagher is on the train heading home to Chicago with his wife and two children. They had just boarded the train 15 minutes prior and he was walking the aisle with his 5-year-old daughter to get a snack when he says he felt the train slow.
“It felt like it decelerated more than normal but didn’t slam to a stop,” he said. “About 10 minutes after, they made an announcement that there was an emergency, the train was fine, we were fine but we weren’t going to be moving.”
Gallagher said the Amtrak staff handled the situation well. Staffers came to each person and gave them more information.
“I really appreciated that because I’m traveling with two small kids and the last thing I’d want them to do is announce it on the PA system,” he said.
It’s been three hours since the train moved, but they handed out snacks and bottled water and everyone was calm, Gallagher said.
“We saw an ambulance drive by on the side of the road and eventually one or two police officers,” he said. “But really everyone is sitting here calm, nothing out of the ordinary, except we haven’t moved for three hours.”
This is the second time in a week a person was killed by an Amtrak train in Metro Detroit. Thursday night, a 38-year-old St. Clair man died after being hit at a crossing in Canton Township.
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