Dorchester fisherman hit and killed by freight train in Wareham

A freight train hit and killed a 56-year-old Dorchester man Thursday while he was fishing in Wareham, the Plymouth County District Attorney’s office announced.

Just before 2:20 p.m., the DA’s office said, a Mass Coastal trash train was traversing the Narrows Crossing railroad bridge when it struck Christopher Cater, who was fishing along the tracks.

The collision threw Cater into the Wareham River, the DA’s office said. First-responders pulled Cater from the water and took him to nearby Tobey Hospital where he was declared dead.

The train engineer and conductor stayed at the scene after the crash. The DA’s office said the train was going 25 mph and sounding its horn when it hit Cater, and that all track barriers were working properly.

Narrows Crossing is a popular local fishing spot, and Cater was with friends when he was hit, WCVB reported. A witness told the news station that Cater didn’t seem to hear the train’s horn.

The train’s conductor jumped into the water to try to save Cater, WCVB reported. They emerged uninjured.

Cater is the fourth person to be hit by a train in Massachusetts in the last two months.

On June 4, a Commuter Rail train hit and injured a Rockport police officer in his cruiser. On May 31, a Commuter Rail train hit and killed a Whitman-Hanson High School student as she crossed the train tracks on foot. On April 26, a Commuter Rail train in Abington hit and killed a man after he drove his car around the safety barrier.

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