Transit Officials Warn Of Spike In Suicides As Holiday Season Nears
LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Transit agency officials issued a warning Wednesday about the increase in suicides by train, light rail or even bus as the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday season draws near.
KNX 1070's Ed Mertz report Metro and Metrolink officials are teaming up with representatives from
Didi Hirsch Mental Health Services to encourage anyone feeling sad or depressed this season.
The campaign is set to be kicked off at a news conference this morning which will include an engineer
who operated a train when a person "jumped in front to end their life," a statement from the groups said. That engineer now responds to suicide-related incidents.
Metro and Didi Hirsch partnered in a successful two-year anti-suicide campaign that saw incidents decline dramatically on the Metro Blue Line, according to officials.
Metrolink spokesman Scott Johnson said just getting the word out can really make a difference in saving lives this time of year.
"Sadly, people do choose to end their life by either standing or stepping in front of one of our trains or a Union Pacific train or a BNSF train or any of the light rails along the Metro line," said Johnson.
So far in 2014, four people have committed suicide by a Metrolink train, compared with 19 people in 2012, according to Johnson.
A man was struck and killed last month by a Metrolink train in North Hollywood while he was on the track in a non-pedestrian area, officials said.