16-year-old Strath Haven track star killed on SEPTA tracks ruled a suicide

The teen, Hallie Jackson, was hit by a train going toward Philadelphia on SEPTA’s Media/Elwyn Line near the Swarthmore Station.

SEPTA Regional Rail (Nathaniel Hamilton for WHYY)

SEPTA Regional Rail (Nathaniel Hamilton for WHYY)

The 16-year-old girl fatally struck by a SEPTA Regional Rail train Monday morning was a suicide, the Delaware County Medical Examiner’s Office has ruled.

The teen, Hallie Jackson, was hit by a train going toward Philadelphia on the Media/Elwyn Line near the Swarthmore Station. The train engineer followed the appropriate procedure when he saw the girl, according to SEPTA. But by the time he saw her, it was too late to avoid collision.

She was pronounced dead at the scene.

The girl was a junior at Strath Haven High School. She was a state medalist in track who was mourned Tuesday by many friends wearing purple, wielding bouquets of flowers and chanting “1-2-3 Hallie” at a school soccer game, according to the Delaware County Daily Times. 

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Jackson’s death marks the eighth Regional Rail fatality this year — and the 17th across all SEPTA systems. Suicides account for more than half the deaths on Regional Rail and subway lines, according to SEPTA.

If you or someone you know is in crisis, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 or text TALK to the Crisis Text Line at 741741.

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