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Galesburg, IL (WQAD) — A man died Saturday afternoon after being hit by a train on the crossing of North Broad Street.
The Register-Mail, a newspaper in Galesburg, reported William VanWinkle Jr., 40, died from a suspected suicide on August 18.
According to the article, police responded to a call at 1:27 p.m. to a pedestrian being struck by a train. Timothy Palmer, the locomotive engineer, saw VanWinkle run onto the tracks and lay down. When Palmer blew the horn, VanWinkle sat up, but did not move off the tracks before being hit.
The article also says two witnesses confirmed VanWinkle had made several recent threats of committing suicide. One said he was depressed and had stopped taking his medicine.
Anyone who knows someone is at risk for suicide should call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK. People can also text the Crisis Text Line by texting TALK to 741741.
Just this past June, several Quad City residents traveled to Washington D.C. to advocate for a three-digit suicide prevention hotline. They joined hundreds from across the country for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) Hill Day.
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