UNT Student Hit & Killed By DCTA A-Train
DENTON (CBSDFW.COM) – The UNT community is mourning the tragic loss of a promising communications student.
Twenty-three year old Dustin O'Dell died last Friday after being hit by a Denton County Transportation Authority train. Investigators say he was walking along a secluded section of tracks when the accident happened.
"It's still very hard for me because I've spent so much one on one time with Dustin doing something he was so passionate about," friend and fellow KNTU DJ Kasi Brown said.
An audio file at the campus radio station preserves the memory of the senior who had big dreams. O'Dell had aspirations of one day being a sportscaster.
O'Dell was hit by a southbound DCTA A-train near Hebron Station and Frankford Road. He was scheduled to graduate in December with a degree in Radio-TV-Film. An avid sports enthusiast, O'Dell is remembered as an energetic, kind and spirited student.
"He never met a stranger," Brown said. 'I don't think there's anyone who's had a class with him who would say anything negative about him."
O'Dell worked as a student DJ for KNTU. His unexpected death has affected everyone in his campus community.
"I will miss seeing him in the hallways. I will miss seeing him at his computer," KNTU News Manager Mark Lambert said.
"Everyone is just astonished that this happened especially because Dustin was such a great person to be around," Brown said.
O'Dell's friends and classmates are still struggling with this tragedy. They say he used to take the A-train to get to campus, but they still don't know why he was walking along those tracks early Friday morning.
"Talking to the students - the question keeps coming up - why was he there? No one has an answer for that," Lambert said. "I presume he was headed back to his family in Garland, but it's a mystery."
O'Dell memorial service is set for Saturday, November 19th, at Williams Funeral Directors in his hometown of Garland.
