A person was struck and killed by an MBTA train in Lincoln on the night of August 22 in an apparent suicide that resulted in major delays on the Fitchburg commuter rail line the following morning when the body was discovered.
Asked how it happened, Lincoln Police Chief Kevin Kennedy said that “the person decided — they went in front of the train.” He would not release the victim’s name, home town, or any other information.
Kennedy said the body was found around 5 a.m. on August 23 adjacent to the tracks between the Route 117 and Lincoln Road crossings, though it was later determined that the collision occurred at about 9 p.m. the night before. It was not immediately reported because the conductor “was not aware that the train had hit something,” Kennedy said. “In talking to the MBTA police, it’s not all that uncommon.”
The MBTA commuter rail’s Twitter feed that morning contained several posts alerting commuters to the delay. The first in the series noted that the 402 inbound service (5:25 a.m. from Wachusett) “remains stopped after Lincoln and is approximately two hours late due to police activity on the right of way.” At 7:55 a.m., they tweeted that service was suspended between Waltham and Wachusett and “trains in the area are holding.” One track was eventually reopened and normal service resumed around 10 a.m.
MBTA police referred questions to the Middlesex County District Attorney’s office.
“As this death is not considered suspicious, our office cannot release any additional information regarding this incident,” a spokesperson from the DA’s office said on August 30.
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