(The Washington Post published the following article by Clarence Williams and Martin Weil on May 2.)
WASHINGTON — An 18-year-old man was struck by a southbound Amtrak train in Prince William County last night, stopping rail traffic in both directions and delaying hundreds of passengers on VRE commuter trains.
The man, who was not immediately identified, was hit about 6:30 p.m. in the Woodbridge area, officials said. The train struck him on the arm and spun him around, county police spokesman Dennis Mangan said.
He was flown by helicopter to Washington Hospital Center with injuries that were described as not life-threatening.
Rail traffic was halted in both directions. Virginia Railway Express’s Train 311, which had just reached the Franconia-Springfield Station, was held there. The next train, No. 313, was stopped at Franconia-Springfield when it arrived there 20 or 25 minutes later, according to VRE spokesman Mark Roeber.
He said the trains carried 1,200 or 1,300 passengers between them. He said tracks were reopened 30 or 35 minutes after the accident, and the trains continued their runs on VRE’s Fredericksburg Line.
The accident occurred near Veterans Park in the Featherstone section, near the Potomac River and Occoquan Bay, according to police. An Amtrak spokesman said the train that hit the man was No. 93, on a run from Boston to Richmond.
Dan Stessel, the spokesman, said the train had left Washington about 5:45 p.m. and had made a stop in Alexandria before the accident. The train was authorized to travel at 79 mph in the stretch where the accident occurred, Stessel said.
He said the man may have been trying to take a shortcut when he was struck. There is no marked crossing nearby, he said.