Updated on April 4, 2:40 p.m.
BRISTOL, Pa. (KYW Newsradio) — Bucks County authorities say a 24-year-old man died by suicide and his brother and father were killed when all three were hit by an Amtrak Acela train Thursday night in Bristol. Officials said the brother and father were trying to rescue him from the tracks.
The crash happened around 6 p.m. near Bristol Station.
Bristol Borough police said they received a call about three people on the tracks in the area of Prospect and Beaver streets.
The tracks are elevated, not street-level. Bristol Police Chief Joe Moors said a sergeant had tried to make his way up an embankment to get the three men off the tracks, but he was too late. The high-speed train barrelled through. Witnesses said they heard the train come to a screeching halt.
The Bucks County Coroner’s Office identified the victims as 56-year-old Christopher Cramp, 31-year-old David Cramp, and 24-year-old Thomas Cramp, who died by suicide. Officials say it appears the father and older brother were trying to save Thomas from ending his own life.
“It's enormously, you know, difficult to deal with death in any capacity, but with a tragic event like this, it just adds that extra layer of difficulty," said Nicholas Emeigh with Bucks County’s National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI).
Bucks County Commissioner Diane Marseglia says Christopher Cramp was a volunteer firefighter and integral member of the county’s social services programs.
“Not just for the staff, but also for all the people who came and depend on those social services,” Marseglia said. “He was not just outstanding, he was unique. And I can't really find the right word for it. That's how big of a loss this is.”
The Amtrak train was traveling from Boston to Richmond, Virginia. Amtrak said there were 236 people on board and none of them were hurt.
As police investigated, service was suspended between Philly and New York for several hours. When trains resumed service again, speed was restricted.
This is the second day in a row that a person was fatally struck by a train in Bucks County. Another person was struck and killed by an Amtrak train near Cornwell Heights Station on Wednesday.
Emeigh says when someone decides to end their own life, it’s because they feel that’s the only option to end the unavoidable pain.
“And I'm here today as one of the directors of NAMI to let everybody know that there is help, and that there is hope,” Emeigh said.
If you or someone you know is in crisis, help is available by calling the national suicide and crisis lifeline at 988. Resources are also available on NAMI’s website.