David McGinn, Olive Geldart Death – The three individuals who lost their lives in a tragic accident involving a train and a pickup truck have been identified by the North Tonawanda Police. David McGinn, 69, Olive Geldart, 66, both residents of North Tonawanda, and Ra’Mari Geldart, 6, from Buffalo, were pronounced dead at the scene.
The fatal incident occurred when the pickup truck, carrying the victims, turned onto Felton Street from River Road and came to a stop on the train tracks just as the railroad gates closed. Subsequently, an Amtrak train collided with the truck, resulting in the deaths of all three occupants. The circumstances surrounding why the truck halted on the tracks remain unclear, although it has been confirmed that a traffic stop was in progress on the opposite side of the tracks.
Despite questions arising about the closure of Felton Street to traffic, the police chief stated that there was no need to close the road due to the ongoing traffic stop. Amtrak reported that train No. 281, en route from New York City to Niagara Falls, was involved in the collision, with no injuries reported among the 21 passengers and crew on board. The Buffalo Public School District released a statement addressing the tragic incident on Monday:
“Superintendent Williams and the entire district extend their deepest and most sincere condolences and prayers to the families and friends of the 6-year-old who tragically lost his young life due to a train accident over the weekend. As this loss of such a young life has shocked and saddened our entire learning community, but particularly BPS 90, where the child attended school, Superintendent Williams directed the Crisis Prevention and Response Teams to be onsite first thing this morning to lead a faculty meeting and to provide the staff with empathic direction for the day and to assist students experiencing loss, grief, fear, or trauma with a goal of helping them begin to heal. Since BPS #90 serves very young students, these crisis prevention specialists are trained to work with young children to help them in developmentally appropriate supportive ways to better understand and cope with the sudden loss of a friend and classmate. The district will reach out to the family to offer condolences.”