Ardsley man killed by train was deaf, official says

From: Philadelphia Inquirer, PA - Jul 8, 2004

An Ardsley man killed by a SEPTA train Sunday was deaf and may have hopped off because he thought that he had missed his stop, the Montgomery County coroner said.

Halbert E. Fillinger Jr., whose office conducted an autopsy, said Tuesday that Robert W. Malley, 43, could not hear the conductor's announcements. Malley had recently undergone surgery for hearing loss and was to receive hearing-aid implants.

The accident happened about 9:15 p.m. A railroad crossing signal was not functioning when the southbound train approached the Roslyn station, SEPTA spokesman Richard Maloney said. The train stopped before the intersection at the station so the conductor could halt traffic and walk the train through the crossing, he said.

Just as the train began to move, Malley either stepped off or lost his balance and fell to the ground, becoming trapped beneath the train, witnesses told police. Malley was rushed to Abington Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

© 2004 Philadelphia Inquirer