NTSB Investigating Death Of Man At Lynbrook LIRR Station
LYNBROOK, N.Y. (CBSNewYork) -- Federal investigators are examining the death of a man who may have been dragged by a moving train at a Long Island Rail Road station earlier this month.
Karl Aarseth Jr., 65, was on the platform of the Lynbrook station on April 5 shortly after 8 p.m., on his way back from the New York International Car Show, reports CBS2's Jennifer McLogan.
Somehow he ended up getting dragged along the platform and killed.
"Just shocked me the night they came, the police," said Peter Djeljevic, a friend of Aarseth. "I said what happened, they said there was a major major accident."
Did Aarseth trip, get bumped, get caught on something, slip onto the platform or fall through the gap? No one saw for sure.
"If they had cameras at the station, we could solve the mystery of what happened," said Joseph Martino, another of Aarseth's close friends.
Martino said he's heartsick about losing his friend who kept his "pride a joy," a Mustang with personal decals, in the garage of their Noble house complex.
According to the National Transportation Safety Board, now investigating the fatality, the conductor said passengers deboarded before he closed the doors and the train began to leave the station.
"In order to understand what happened, and how similar events might be prevented, we are fully participating in the federal investigation into this tragic acciddent," said the LIRR in a statement.
In the meanwhile, Aarseth's friends are memorialzing him for his his love of books and athletic ways as an avid swimmer in their pool.
"He was a single guy just enjoying his life," said Martino. "He ws going to travel a lot, he was very much into national parks and to be cut short of his retirement is just a damn shame."
"I am missing him every day, to be honest with you, we were very close," added Djeljevic.
