A number of people have been killed over the years in Merrimack Valley communities while walking on railroad tracks or across rail bridges. And the lessons to be learned from those tragedies are just as applicable here on the North Shore with the commuter rail branches that run through Beverly to Rockport and Newburyport.
Up in Haverhill, city councilors are considering improved fencing along the tracks or warning signs as a means of preventing these accidents. But the victims in most cases have been young adults — people old enough to know they are not supposed to be on the tracks at all. For them, signs and fences are unlikely to be much of a deterrent.
The latest victim was Haverhill boxer Jeff Fraza, who was killed early on the morning of Feb. 4 on train tracks in an industrial area just outside the city's central business district. The 34-year-old apparently was talking on a cellphone when he was hit by a train on the tracks along Hale Street.
The rail bridge leading into the Haverhill station is a particular cause for concern. It is occasionally used as a shortcut across the river, despite the proximity of the Comeau Bridge just a stone's throw away.
Last summer, police responded to a report of a man sitting on the tracks on the train bridge eating a sandwich and wearing headphones.
"He had a sub and thought it was a nice place to sit down and eat it," Deputy Chief Donald Thompson told The Eagle-Tribune. "I was watching from the Comeau Bridge as officers came at him from both sides."
There is no reason to be walking along railroad tracks — ever. These unfortunate deaths could be avoided by following one simple rule: Stay off the tracks.
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