According to local media reports, a passenger train struck and killed a 39-year-old man of Indian origin in New Jersey as he was crossing the train tracks.
On February 28, an Amtrak train travelling from Washington to Boston struck the man as he was crossing the tracks east of Princeton Junction, according to media reports.
The deceased, identified as 39-year-old Sreekanth Digala from Annamayya, Andhra Pradesh, was pronounced dead on the scene, media reports further added. Digala is said to be a resident of Plainsboro, New Jersey.
A GoFundMe fundraiser has since been started for the 39-year-old deceased man. According to the fundraiser, Digala was the sole breadwinner of the family, including his wife and 10-year-old son as well as his 70+-year-old parents and in-laws back home in India.
“Local Indian communities & TANA, Friends and Family members of Sreekanth are working diligently with the Indian Embassy authorities to figure out a way to complete the rituals and perform the last rites,” the fundraiser read.
As of three days after the start of the fundraiser, US$97,520 out of the US$ 250,000 have already been raised, with the fundraiser citing that the funds would contribute to the education of his child as well as his family’s needs like housing and childcare.
According to media reports, multiple passengers aboard the train took to Twitter to detail the incident, stating that the train was brought to a halt for about five hours after the incident.