Train kills Sutersville teen readying to graduate, propose
Dustin Chenault had a lot to look forward to in life.
The 18-year-old resident of Sutersville was just 25 days short of graduating from Yough Senior High School in Sewickley Township and about two months from proposing to his longtime girlfriend.
"He was going to ask her at a graduation party we were planning for him in early July," said Chenault's mother, Julie Chenault, who lived with her son at 116 First Ave.
All that ended Sunday when Chenault, described as a friend to all who knew him, was struck and killed by a CSX freight train while walking east on the southern set of tracks near the Third Avenue crossing in the Youghiogheny River town.
State police said Chenault entered the southern set of tracks on the two-track line at about 1:20 p.m. yesterday. The eastbound train — two engines and 170 freight cars topped off with coal — approached Chenault from behind. The estimated speed of the train at the time of the accident was not disclosed yesterday.
Witnesses said the train's engineer repeatedly blew the train's horn to warn Chenault of his approach.
"I just heard that train keep beeping," said Valerie Jeffcoat of 718 Second Ave., who was inside her home at the time.
Jeffcoat's nephew, 14-year-old Andrew Wright, discovered Chenault after the accident. He and 13-year-old Corey Keener reported the fatality to Westmoreland 911.
"If you were the worst guy in the world, he'd still try to be your friend," Wright said.
The train was stopped for hours yesterday as borough residents — both family and friends of Chenault — gathered near the scene.
Chenault's classmates, including Allison Dixon, offered each other support and reminisced about Chenault's love of art and music.
"He was working on a new painting on Friday," said Dixon, 15, of 540 Second Ave.
Grief counselors will be available to students throughout the day in the library at Yough Senior High School, said Yough Superintendent Dr. Denise Shipe. She said teachers were notified Sunday to arrive early today to meet with the counselors prior to the start of classes.
"Anytime we lose one of our students, it's a terrible tragedy," Shipe said. "Our heart goes out to the family."
Earl Thompson, high school principal, described Chenault as an artistic, friendly student.
"It didn't matter how many times throughout the day I saw him, he would always speak to me," Thompson said. "He was a nice kid, a good boy. We're all going to be saddened by the loss."
Dixon's mother, Nicole, said the dangers presented by the passing trains must be addressed.
"Something has to be done," said Nicole Dixon. "The trains fly through here and there's not enough to keep these kids off the tracks."
Second Avenue resident Alex Philhouser, 34, worried aloud about how the speed of the trains, the limited crossings and the easy access to the tracks will endanger the lives of his three young sons — Brandon, 11; Zachary, 10; and Justin, 9.
"I see brand new train cars coming through here all the time, so you can't tell me that company can't afford to put up a fence or some guide rails along those tracks to keep these kids away," Philhouser said.
Philhouser noted the tracks in the borough are lined by eroded timber walls that rise no higher than a foot in most places.
"My son fell over that 8-inch-wall just the other day."
Greensburg state police Trooper Michael McElfresh and CSX Trainmaster Joseph Tate investigated the scene yesterday.
CSX officials were unavailable for comment yesterday.
County Deputy Coroner John Ackerman had not released any details yesterday regarding a cause and manner of Chenault's death.
Julie Chenault spent Mother's Day in tears, knowing she was keeping the engagement ring for her son until the big day. She plans to present it to the girl Chenault hoped would be his fiancee — Joelle Brown of Greensboro in Greene County.
"It's what he would have wanted."
Additional Information:
Other accidents
The death of a teenager Sunday in Sutersville, Westmoreland County, is the fifth train accident in Sutersville in less than 18 months:
Dec. 19, 2007 : An intoxicated man who was walking down the center of the tracks near the Fourth Avenue crossing is hospitalized with broken ribs, a skull fracture and a punctured lung after being hit by a CSX train.
March 6, 2008 : Joseph Hermann, 24, of Sewickley Township, was struck and killed by a CSX train in front of a residence on Third Avenue in Sutersville. Witnesses reported Hermann was playing a game of 'chicken' along the railroad tracks as the train approached when he was struck.
March 24, 2008 : A westbound CSX train crushes a car at the Fourth Street crossing in the borough. State police said the driver was speeding to beat the train when she hit a wall on the north side of the tracks. The train hit the rear of the car. A male passenger exited the car before it was hit, but the female driver, Autumn Scavnicky of Sutersville, was hospitalized.
April 13, 2008 : An unidentified male pedestrian is taken to the hospital by private vehicle after he was struck on the tracks near June Bug's Bar.
