Woman killed by commuter train in Connecticut: Metro-North

By Richard Weizel

MILFORD, Conn. (Reuters) - An 28-year-old Connecticut woman was killed by a Metro-North express train in Greenwich, Connecticut, on Friday after stepping onto the tracks to try to retrieve a dropped personal item, a railroad spokeswoman said.

The woman, whose identity was not released, was struck by a northbound train out of Grand Central Terminal in New York City that was passing through Greenwich on its way to New Haven, at about 9:30 a.m., Metro-North officials said. The Chief State Medical Examiner's Office is determining the exact cause of death.

The woman appeared to have been trying to retrieve a wallet or handbag she had dropped onto the tracks before the train passed through the Cos Cob station in Greenwich, said Metro-North spokeswoman Meredith Daniels.

"The engineer did sound the horn while going through," Daniels said. "We strongly warn people never to go on the tracks for any reason, but at times they still do and that can result in tragedies like this."

The deadly crash is the third along the Metro North and Amtrak train tracks within the past few months.

A woman was struck and killed by an Amtrak train at a Fairfield, Connecticut, station in March, and a 32-year-old Bridgeport man was killed at another Fairfield station after jumping in front of a train in May, police said.

In the latter incident, the train's engineer told authorities the man was walking along the railway line before intentionally laying down on the tacks as the train approached. The engineer hit the breaks immediately, but the train was unable to stop, police and Metro North officials said.

(Editing by Scott Malone and Sandra Maler)