Woman Killed by Train at Green’s Farms Station

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News

Saturday, December 08, 2007

UPDATE A 59-year-old Westport woman was struck and killed by a Metro-North New Haven Line train today at Westport’s Green’s Farms Station.
Passengers await a New York-bound train at Green’s Farms station today after the train in which they were riding struck and killed a woman. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

All trains were halted after the incident shortly after 12:30 p.m.

Several hundred passengers on the New York-bound train were taken off at the station and waited in the parking lot adjacent to the New Haven-bound platform for a replacement train to continue their journey.

Metro-North spokesman Dan Brucker identified the woman as Janet Welch, 59, of Westport. He said she jumped out in front of the train from under a bridgeplate across a track. A bridgeplate is a platform which allows riders to access a train on an inside track away from the platform.

“This is the first time we have seen someone come out from underneath a bridgeplate,” Brucker said.

He said she was struck by a train traveling at least 50 miles per hour which had not been scheduled to stop at the station.

Traffic was suspended on the New Haven Line for more than an hour, he said, and at least six Metro-North trains were affected as well as an Amtrak train.

Brucker said normal traffic was resumed by 2:30 p.m.
Investigators confer at the Green’s Farms station today after a New York-bound train struck a woman. (CLICK TO ENLARGE) Dave Matlow for WestportNow.com

A handbag with a note was found on the station platform, according to an investigator.

Welch was pronounced dead by a state medical examiner, according to fire officials. Her body was found on the second track out from the platform.

Welch was a resident of Highwood Road, according to public records, and had lived in Westport since at least 1994.

She was active in dog organizations and was a member of the Glyndwr Welsh Terrier Club which held at event at Westport’s Sherwood Island State Park in April, according to the organization’s Web site.

She also frequented Winslow Park with her terriers. In January 2004, she wrote a letter to WestportNow after one of her dogs was attacked in the park.

Welch was a registered pharmacist, according to SeniorCarePharmacist.com, and held a doctorate degree.

It said she operated Westport Pharmacovigilance LLC, a drug safety consultancy and specialized in areas of adherence/ compliance monitoring; education; medication management; adverse drug events; pain and depression.

She at one time was director, medical services and drug surveillance, at Purdue Frederick Company, Inc., in Norwalk.

Welch earned a degree in biology at City University of New York, a degree in pharmaceutical sciences at St. Johns University, and a doctorate in biopsychology from the Graduate School of the City University, according to an obituary sent later to news media by a funeral home.

It said she was survived by her husband, Gary R. Schick of Westport; a brother, John Welch, a sister, Lauren Welch, and two nephews.

There will be a memorial service Monday, Dec. 17, at noon in the Saugatuck Congregational Church, 245 Post Road East.

Welch was the second death in less than 24 hours on Metro-North tracks. Another person was killed Friday night after being struck and killed by a Metro-North train on the tracks west of the New Haven station.

News

Saturday, December 08, 2007

Woman Killed by Train at Green’s Farms Station

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