1-Year-Old Girl, Father Struck By Train In University City
By Natasha Brown
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – A one-year-old girl and her father were struck by a SEPTA train Friday night in University City.
It happened at about 7:50 p.m. when a westbound Market-Frankford Line train was coasting into SEPTA's 30th Street Station.
Officials say the train was going about 10 to 15 miles an hour when it struck the father and his one-year-old daughter.
Police tell CBS 3 the man was holding the baby in his arms at the time and was standing too close to the tracks.
"The father has his one-year-old daughter in his hands, he's talking to the child, has the child up in his face, and he's having a conversation with the child... He walks over the yellow line. The train strikes the child and the father," Lt. John Walker of Philadelphia Police said.
The baby was rushed to Children's Hospital of Philadelphia with a head injury and is critically injured. The little girl is in intensive care.
"That is often a fear of mine when I see some of the children or, with the parents and they are a little too close because they can be sideswiped and they can be struck and pulled. So that's always one of my concerns. It's horrible," a passenger said.
The child's father was taken to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania for treatment and is listed in stable condition.
Police say this appears to be a tragic accident at this point.
The incident remains under investigation.
Stay with CBSPhilly.com for the latest on this developing story.
