BY JANICE MORSE
The Cincinnati Enquirer
FRANKLIN -- A train struck and killed a 15-year-old Carlisle boy early Sunday, believed to be the 16th person killed on Ohio railroad tracks this year.
Gary Michael Duncan was pronounced dead at the scene, south of the railroad crossing at Lower Carlisle Road.
The Carlisle High School freshman had gone to the city's Riverdays festival on Saturday night. Afterward, he and some friends were "hanging out" around the railroad tracks, said Franklin Police Capt. Gerald Massey.
The youth reportedly had lain down on the tracks before he was struck around 4:30 a.m. Sunday, said Capt. Massey.
So far the police investigation has found no sign of suicide or foul play, but the Warren County Coroner's Office is investigating whether drugs or alcohol were a factor.
Preliminary figures from Operation Lifesaver, a national railroad safety group, show at least 15 people have been killed by trains in Ohio this year, said Don Slemmer, the group's state coordinator.
The group is trying to educate the public that it is illegal to walk or loiter along railroad tracks; anyone who is caught may face a criminal charge.
The Carlisle boy's death comes on the heels of a rash of train-related accidents in Butler County. On July 28, William Scott Anderson sat down on train tracks in Hamilton and was struck by a train and lost his leg.
On July 19, Kenneth McFarland of Middletown died after being struck by a train in the 600 block of North University Drive in Middletown. He reportedly had been sitting on the tracks, and authorities said Mr. McFarland's blood-alcohol level was more than triple Ohio's intoxication limit.
In early July, a romantic moonlight stroll along railroad tracks in Hamilton nearly killed Mandy Cook and Brett Lay. Just hours after they got engaged, a locomotive quietly rounded a bend and surprised the couple walking along a narrow train trestle. Mr. Lay's leg was clipped by the train, slicing it into a bloody mess.
The couple faced delinquency counts of criminal trespassing. Each was ordered to attend a railroad safety class and pay $30 to the juvenile court's fund for needy youths and their families.
