Maryland Teen Amtrak Death: Taking Photos With Girlfriend On Tracks Blamed In Train Accident

The 16-year-old boy struck and killed by an Amtrak train in Maryland Monday was taking photos with his girlfriend and the girlfriend’s sister just before the accident, the boy’s family and friends say. John Martin DeReggi Jr. was being photographed with his girlfriend in a picturesque spot when a train came through, causing the two sisters to jump one way and DeReggi to jump another way. The boy’s friends and family said DeReggi didn’t jump out of the way of the train in time, according to ABC News.

Police are still investigating the incident that occurred in Boyds, Maryland, about 20 miles north of Washington, D.C. Police did not say why the three were on the tracks, nor have they released any information on why they could not jump out of the oncoming train’s path in time.

Witnesses were still being interviewed as of Wednesday, but police don’t think DeReggi was pushed or that he had a death wish. Police also didn’t think the operator of the Amtrak train did anything wrong, ABC News reported.

The man who called 911 after the accident told a local television station in Washington that he saw DeReggi walking along the tracks with two girls just before 5 p.m. Monday, and tried to alert them that the train was coming by honking his car horn. Residents in Montgomery County, where DeReggi lived, mourned his death the day after he was hit.

“Everyone was sad today,” one student at Clarksburg High School said. “The vibe, you just knew something was wrong as soon as you walked in, and everybody was down, quiet today.”

The train that struck DeReggi was traveling from Washington to Chicago and had about 200 passengers on it. None of the passengers on the train were injured, police have said.