MONTREAL – Three young men who died after being struck by a train early yesterday were standing on the tracks looking at graffiti when the passenger train hit them from behind, an Urgences Sante spokesperson said Sunday.
The three men, ages 17 to 19, were on the tracks just before 3 a.m. when they were struck by a Montreal-bound Via Rail train below the Turcot Interchange.
Police refused to release their names.
Two other men, who narrowly avoided being hit, were taken to a hospital suffering from nervous shock.
The two survivors told Urgences Sante paramedics that the five friends were looking at graffiti on a nearby concrete structure when the accident happened.
"The (two survivors) just managed to get out of the way," said Benoit Garneau, an Urgences Sante spokesperson. "They said they didn’t hear the train coming."
The young men had parked their car and crossed the highway to get to the rail tracks, near Notre Dame St. and Place Turcot.
Two of the young men died at the scene and a third was rushed to the Montreal General Hospital, where he died of his injuries.
A few hours after the accident, a Via Rail spokesperson spoke to reporters near the scene and pleaded with the public to stay away from railway tracks.
"This case is another example that the message doesn’t seem to be getting through," Elizabeth Huart said. "Railway tracks are dangerous. It is not the place to go and party."
Montreal police Constable Daniel Richer said the young men may have been at the scene to spray-paint graffiti on a Transport Quebec building or on the interchange itself.
"That is one of the hypothesis that we are looking at," he said.
Detectives planned to question the two survivors to find out what the young men were doing at the time.
The accident happened in area popular with vandals who spray-paint their tag names on the concrete structure below the highway.
Richer said it is possible the men did not see or hear the train coming. The sound of trains at that spot is muffled by the surrounding concrete structures of the interchange, he said.
The two train drivers suffered "emotional shock," Huart said. She said the drivers can avail themselves of a peer support program that gives drivers a chance to speak to colleagues who have experienced similar accidents.
"It gives them a chance to talk about what happened," she said.
Following the collision, about 45 passengers on the train were transported by bus to Central Station.
Huart said the public must heed publicity campaigns that highlight the dangers of trespassing on railway tracks.
"The train cannot turn and it takes a very long time for it to stop," she said.
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