SOUTH DEERFIELD — An adult was transported to Baystate Franklin Medical Center with injuries described by Deerfield Police Chief John Paciorek as being “life-threatening at minimum” after being struck by a northbound Amtrak train.

Emergency personnel responded to a report of an adult who was struck by an Amtrak train at approximately 4:11 p.m. Paciorek clarified that, despite the incident’s proximity to local schools, the victim was not a student.

Personnel from the South Deerfield Fire District, South County EMS and Deerfield Police Department were the first to respond to the area of the Pleasant Street railroad crossing before Massachusetts State Police, the Amtrak Police Department and officials with the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner arrived.

Although a LIFE STAR helicopter was initially called to transport the victim, Paciorek said the individual was ultimately taken to Baystate Franklin Medical Center by a South County EMS ambulance. The South Deerfield Fire District, in a Facebook post, later stated the patient was airlifted from the Greenfield hospital to Baystate Medical Center in Springfield.

According to Amtrak Senior Public Relations Manager Jason Abrams, there were no reported injuries to the 79 passengers or crew onboard the train, which was traveling from Washington D.C. to St. Albans, Vermont. The train was able to leave the scene at 7:25 p.m., Abrams said.

Passenger Michael Latham, 21, of Connecticut, said he felt the train hit its emergency brakes and he saw the victim being carried away on a stretcher. The individual who was hit “didn’t have blood all over,” Latham said, but “was definitely bruised up.”

“The emergency brake came on early, because at first we thought maybe it was another train that hit something,” Latham said upon getting off the train at the John W. Olver Transit Center in Greenfield shortly after 8 p.m.

Another passenger, Mary, of Pennsylvania, who declined to provide her last name, described the incident as “tragic.” Although she did not wish to describe what she saw on the train, she thought the emergency responders “could not have done a better job.”

Article continues after...

Yesterday's Most Read Articles

Four Red Fire Farm workers arrested as part of ICE operation in Springfield

Avery’s General Store building in Charlemont for sale

Greenfield seeks renewal of Slum and Blight designation to bring in funds for infrastructure

Amherst’s Ryan Leonard signs entry-level contract with Capitals, expected to make NHL debut Tuesday in Boston against the Bruins

Greenfield Fire Station’s energy use 250% higher than expected

The ills of a billion-dollar enterprise: The slow-death of the cannabis industry, and what might be done to reverse the trend

Your Daily Puzzles

Cross|Word

Flipart

Typeshift

SpellTower

Really Bad Chess

Monday’s incident comes just a few months after a 43-year-old Deerfield man was killed after being struck by an Amtrak train in the area of South Main Street and Thayer Street in South Deerfield in November. The man was pronounced dead at the scene, Paciorek said in November.

This story will be updated as more information becomes available.

Anthony Cammalleri can be reached at acammalleri@recorder.com or 413-930-4429.