Coroner Releases Cause and Manner of Death for Pedestrian Killed by Train in Lower Gwynedd

Keith Heffintrayer | North Penn Now•

Penllyn Train Station in Lower Gwynedd Township.

The Montgomery County Coroner’s Office has released the autopsy results for a woman who was struck and killed by a SEPTA train in Lower Gwynedd Township earlier this week.

The victim, previously identified by police as a 57-year-old woman from East Norriton Township, was killed after she left the platform of the Penllyn Train Station and walked into the path of an oncoming train around 7:30 a.m. on Feb. 27. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Montgomery County Coroner Dr. Janine Darby said an autopsy was performed on Wednesday afternoon, resulting in the woman’s manner of death being listed as multiple blunt-impact injuries and her cause of death being listed as suicide.

The victim’s next-of-kin have been notified of her death, Darby said. The woman’s name has not been released due to the nature of her death.

SEPTA officials confirmed Wednesday morning that the incident was likely a suicide.

"According to the information we gathered after the incident yesterday, the person was on the platform and then walked into the tracks and into the path of the train as it was coming into the station,” said Andrew Busch, Director of Media Relations for SEPTA.

Service along the regional rail line was suspended following the incident, with SEPTA using shuttle buses to transport passengers on the train to an area public transit station. The regional rail line resumed normal service on Tuesday afternoon, according to a report by Jo Ciavaglia at the Bucks County Courier Times.

If you or someone you know is experiencing thoughts of suicide or self-harm, help is available by calling or texting the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988. Additional help can be found online here.