Tragedy in the Village of Bergen: HS student struck and killed by train

A 16-year-old Byron-Bergen High School student apparently tried to dash across train tracks on the north side of Lake Avenue on Friday afternoon and was struck by a westbound Amtrak train.

The youth was then hit by an eastbound CSX train.

Pronounced dead at the scene by Coroner Robert Yungfleish was Eric C. Wall, of Bergen.

Eric walked home from school with two friends Friday. At some point on Lake Avenue, Eric and his friends went their separate ways and Eric started running north, toward home. He went under a pedestrian gate at the train crossing even while warning bells were clanging, according to witnesses.

Deputy Chief Gordon Dibble said it's impossible to know what Eric's intentions were or if he was aware that not just one, but two trains were bearing down on the intersection.

One village resident said there has been a problem recently with the crossing gates going down and the bells ringing even though no train was coming.

Eric made it across one pair of tracks before being struck, Dibble said.

After he was struck, Eric's body was apparently thrown across Lake Avenue, landing on the south shoulder of the roadway near the train tracks.

The accident was reported at 2:47 p.m. By 3:15 p.m., dozens of students from Byron-Bergen were in the village, all seemingly aware of what had happened and who had been killed. Many students were in tears.

At least six school officials, a few wearing "crisis team" badges, were on scene.

Mayor Ralph Marsocci said he knew Eric. Like many Byron-Bergen students, Eric would stop into Ralph and Rosie's delicatessen after school for a slice of pizza.

"He was a wonderful kid, as most of them are," Marsocci said. "He was always very polite, always said 'thank you.'"

In a village of only 1,200 people, Eric's tragic death would be felt by the whole community, Marsocci said.

"People are devastated," Marsocci.

Friends of Eric's who spoke with the media said that Eric was fun to be around.

"He was really funny," Nicole Adams said. "He was like awkward funny. He would make stupid jokes, but everybody would laugh. Whoever was with him was always happy because he was always funny."

Her sister, Shauna, added, "I barely knew him and every time I talked to him he made me laugh."

The girls said they found out about the accident because a friend was on a school bus that was in the area and saw the whole thing and called them immediately.

Dibble said investigators gathered a number of statements from eyewitnesses. 

The investigation is ongoing.

Assisting at the scene were the Bergen Fire Department and State Police.