2 killed by an Amtrak train in Chester are identified as children, as investigation continues

» UPDATE, MAY 1: The children killed by an Amtrak train on Saturday were Chester residents, ages 9 and 12

The two children struck by an Amtrak train and killed in Chester on Saturday were believed to be between the ages of 11 and 13 and may have been “part of a group of young people” that had gathered at the site of the fatal accident, Mayor Thaddeus Kirkland said Sunday.

Details of the incident remained sparse on Sunday, and the identities of the victims were not made available.

“We’re still investigating,” said Kirkland.

According to an Amtrak spokesperson, two people had been “trespassing” on the tracks near Engle Street, in Chester’s West End, when they were struck about 4:30 p.m. by southbound Train 161, which had originated in New York and was headed to Washington.

Family members are “devastated,” Kirkland said, adding that he had spoken to the victims’ parents.

City Council member Stefan Roots, who is running against Kirkland in the mayoral primary, said that he, Kirkland, and council member Will Morgan went to the site after the accident. “We were all left speechless,” he said in a blog post.

No injuries to the train’s 368 passengers or crew were reported, Amtrak said in a statement late Saturday night.

The incident delayed eight trains, Amtrak said, but travel along Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor between New York and Washington had largely resumed about 6 p.m.

Train 161 remained stalled at the site of the crash for over four hours.

In its statement, Amtrak said incidents such as Saturday’s “serve as critical reminders about the importance of obeying the law and of exercising extreme caution around railroad tracks and crossings.”

Said Kirkland, “We got to pay better attention to our children.” He said he recalled a time when “your neighborhood was your mother and father. It’s different now.”

“My hope is this is something that brings the whole community together.”