For the second time in the past month, a Cochrane teen has been killed after being struck by a train.
During the early morning hours of Aug. 9, an 18-year-old Cochrane male was killed after he was hit by a train in the area on the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) tracks behind the Cochrane Provincial Building and Cochrane Lanes.
The cause of the incident remains under investigation, and Cochrane RCMP Sgt. Darleen White said the name of the individual who was killed would likely not be released to the media.
The collision occurred at approximately 2:30 a.m. Cochrane RCMP and EMS responders were dispatched to the scene, where they discovered that a male had been struck by a westbound train; he was pronounced dead at the scene by emergency services.
Social media postings began to spring up on Facebook around the time of the tragedy, indicating that people could hear the train incessantly blowing its whistle.
An autopsy is being conducted on the 18-year-old male, and there is not likely to be any charges laid as a result of this incident.
Police are also awaiting video footage of the collision from CPR.
This was the third incident involving pedestrians and trains in Cochrane during the past month.
The first took the life of another 18-year-old Cochranite, Jesse Dostaler. Dostaler was killed in the East End of Cochrane July 16.
Another incident occurred shortly after (July 19), when a dog was struck and killed near the CPR bridge one kilometre west of Cochrane where two males were walking their dogs along the tracks.
“We want to remind people to stay off the tracks,” said RCMP Sgt. White, adding that railway tracks are not a walkway and anyone using them as such can be charged with trespassing.
Cochrane RCMP and emergency services responded to a semi-truck rollover on the Trans-Canada Highway Aug. 11, which ended up blocking both eastbound lanes.
The incident took place approximately one kilometre west of Morley Road, and emergency services on scene reported only minor injuries as a result of the rollover.
The highway was closed to eastbound traffic for several hours while crews removed the rolled over semi and cleaned up debris.
