PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — The families of two children who were struck and killed by an Amtrak train in Chester earlier this year are suing the train company. The suit claims Amtrak failed to repair a hole in a protective fence.
The federal suit filed by Siana Gordan, the mother of 9-year-old Jahaad Atkinson, and Wydeia Kimble, the mother of 12-year-old Ah’Yir Womack, seeks $20 million in damages against Amtrak.
The boys were struck and killed on the tracks near Engle Street in Chester in April. The suit alleges the children used a hole in the fence and entered the tracks to take a shortcut to a playground. They were struck and killed on the tracks.
The mothers’ attorney, Emeka Igwe, said the hole in the fence had been there for years, and Amtrak never fixed it.
“It’s big enough for a human being — a grown adult — to walk through,” Igwe said. “There’s no way that anyone who cared about safety would have not recognized that that’s a security risk.”
Igwe said Amtrak doesn’t have to erect fences along its tracks, but if it does, it has a responsibility to maintain them.
Igwe said the fence was fixed after the lawsuit was filed.
A spokesperson for Amtrak said the train company is unable to comment on pending litigation.