By Philip Sean Curran, Staff Writer
A Princeton High School student on the train tracks close to the Princeton Junction Station was hit by a New York-bound Amtrak train Sept.28, the first of two people killed in that way in a three-day-span.
The sophomore was struck around 2:45 p.m. by a train that had originated in New Orleans. Amtrak said it “cannot confirm” if the boy’s death was a suicide, but if it were, it would be the second time in as many years that a PHS student had ended his life. In September 2016, also during the first month of school, a 14-year-old freshman committed suicide.
For its part, the district said it had made grief counselors available to students and staff.
“Friday was a difficult day,” said principal Gary Snyder on Monday.
Mayor Liz Lempert took to Facebook Friday to say she had met on Sept. 28 with the local Youth Advisory Committee — a group of area high school students.
“We talked about the need to address teen mental health, and the importance of students and parents being at the table,” Mayor Lempert wrote. “I am eager to work with this thoughtful group of teens, the schools and other community partners in doing better for Princeton’s young people.”
In the second incident, a man identified as Ethan Cullen, 25, of Hightstown, was on the tracks when he was hit by another Amtrak train around 8:30 p.m., Saturday, also near Princeton Junction.
None of the 52 passengers or crew on that Miami to New York train reported injuries, Amtrak spokesman Jason C. Abrams said.
