HS student hit and killed by train

COMSTOCK TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) - A 17-year-old Kalamazoo County resident was struck and killed by an Amtrak train Tuesday afternoon.

Alan Eaton-Chandler, a student at Galesburg-Augusta High School, got off his school bus just before 4 p.m. in the 8000 block of K Avenue in Comstock Township. His normal bus stop was on East Michigan Avenue (M-96) and authorities don't know why he got off at the different stop.

After getting off the bus Eaton-Chandler walked across an open field toward his home on East Michigan Avenue.  He entered the railroad right-of-way and was walking with his back to the train possibly wearing headphones, according to witnesses.

The Kalamazoo County Sheriff's Department says the train's engineer sounded the horn several times but Eaton-Chandler did not react. The train hit Eaton-Chandler and he was prounnced dead at the scene.

Funeral arrangements are being handled by Langeland Family Funeral Homes.

The accident remains under investigation. Anyone with information is asked to call the sheriff's department at (269) 385-6150 or Silent Observer (269) 343-2100.