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Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Yahoo
Maryland Transit Administration IDs one of pedestrians struck and killed by MARC train
The Maryland Transit Administration has confirmed the identity of one of the two people who were struck and killed by a MARC train in southern Washington County on May 6. One of the deceased is Summer Giffin, a 20-year-old woman from Knoxville, Maryland, according to emails from transit spokesperson Veronica Battisti. The Knoxville zip code includes the Sandy Hook area and other communities in the southern tip of Washington County as well as parts of nearby Frederick County, according to Giffin was one of two people who were on the train tracks when a MARC train heading from Washington, D.C., to Martinsburg, struck them and they died, Battisti has said. The incident occurred around 6:15 p.m. May 6, on CSX tracks in the Sandy Hook area. In organizing a funeral and memorial GoFundMe for her sister, Destiny Giffin posted, "Please help show her love and celebrate her life that was taken to [sic] soon she was a hero in the long run losing her life to try help a boy not get hit by a train." When The Herald-Mail inquired whether circumstances of the crash were available, Battisti emailed on May 7 that the incident remained under investigation. The GoFundMe had raised more than $9,600 as of May 7. About 100 passengers on MARC Train 875 were transferred to another train to complete their trip after the incident, Battisti has said. The affected route handles Amtrak and freight traffic as well as MARC commuter trains, CSX spokesperson Austin Staton said. Traffic on those tracks resumed around 9:15 p.m. May 6, Staton said in an email. Both CSX and transit officials stressed the dangers of walking on or alongside railroad tracks. CSX has tracks along Sandy Hook Road in southern Washington County that cross the Potomac to Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. The tracks in that area are not far from the river with the route following the curves in the Potomac. On June 11, 1999, two male pedestrians from North Potomac, Md., were killed by a MARC train in the Sandy Hook Road area. Eyewitnesses told The Herald-Mail at the time that the men had finished inner tubing in the nearby Potomac and were sitting on their inner tubes on the tracks. Hagerstown WWII vet to make appearance: Gettysburg Film Festival celebrates WWII victory with special guests This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: MTA releases ID of woman struck and killed by MARC train
Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Yahoo
Two pedestrians walking on tracks dead after being struck by MARC train in Western Md.
(This story has been updated with new information and to correct the destination of Train 875.) A Maryland Transit Administration official confirmed late May 6 that two people walking on train tracks in southern Washington County were struck by a MARC train and died. "We are saddened by this tragic incident and remind the public that it is never safe to walk on or alongside railroad tracks," Maryland Transit spokesperson Veronica Battisti said in an email to The Herald-Mail. "We express our condolences to the victims and their families." About 100 passengers on MARC Train 875 were transferred to another train to complete their trip, Battisti said. Train 875 was heading west from Washington, D.C., to Martinsburg, West Virginia, around 6:15 p.m. on Tuesday, May 6, when the train struck the two people walking on the tracks, Battisti said. The incident occurred on train tracks in the Sandy Hook area, east of the Harpers Ferry station, she said. The investigation into the incident is ongoing. Earlier in the evening, CSX spokesperson Bryan Tucker, via email, confirmed an incident involving a MARC train on CSX tracks in southern Washington County. He referred further questions about the incident to the Maryland Department of Transportation. Tucker said a CSX special agent responded, as well as Washington County first responders. Transit posted messages on X, formerly known as Twitter, about police activity delaying a MARC train on the Brunswick line east of the Harpers Ferry station. CSX has tracks along Sandy Hook Road in southern Washington County that cross the Potomac River to Harpers Ferry. The Transit Authority posted after 6 p.m. on May 6 about the MARC Brunswick Train 875 being stopped east of Harpers Ferry station due to police activity and the train later being terminated with passengers to take Train 879. Train 875, according to the online MARC schedule, departs Union Station in Washington, D.C., shortly before 4:30 p.m., to head to Martinsburg. Battisti said May 7 that MARC Train Brunswick Line service was operating on a regular schedule that morning. Track 2 reopened around 9 p.m. May 6 with speed restrictions and all tracks were open at 10 p.m. May 6, Battisti said. CSX spokesperson Austin Staton said the route is used for freight and Amtrak as well as for MARC. Staton stressed that "this incident must serve as a reminder of the very real dangers of trespassing on railroad property and why it is important for the public to stay away from active railroad tracks and rail yards." More information about railroad safety can be found at Operation Lifesaver, a nationally recognized leader of rail safety education, according to Staton. A spokesperson for the Washington County Sheriff's Office referred questions about the incident to CSX on the evening of May 6. This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: CSX investigating MARC train fatalities in southern Washington County
