Yesterday afternoon, a UVa student, presumably attempting to commit suicide, placed her head on the tracks under Beta Bridge in front of an oncoming train. The train activated its emergency brakes and managed to stop before hitting the girl. Two men jumped off of the train, chased the fleeing girl and held her until police took her away to Region Ten. Martin Oliver has the story in today’s Cavalier Daily.
News and meta-news about Charlottesville, VA, since 2001.
Sideblog
Police announced this afternoon that their investigation into what was initially believed to be a fatal fire on Rugby Avenue is now a homicide investigation. #
The Virginia Supreme Court has denied George Huguely’s appeal. His second-degree murder conviction will stand, WRIC reports. #
In a carefully worded story, and not citing specific sources, WTVR reports that forensic evidence belonging to Jesse Matthew Jr., the main suspect in the disappearance of Hannah Graham, matches forensic evidence collected during the investigation of Morgan Harrington’s 2009 murder. #
In the wake of Hannah Graham’s disappearance, and the evidence that came from private security footage, city officials are revisiting the question of installing security cameras on the downtown mall. #
Both Charlottesville Registrar Sheri Iachetta and former Electoral Board member Stephanie Commander have turned themselves in to the police on
four six and four felony counts of embezzlement, respectively. #Ten years ago, the National Institutes of Health budget doubled and schools like the University of Virginia built massive new research facilities. A decade later, those buildings remain largely underutilized. NPR visits UVA in this story on the effect of federal binge and spurge spending in the sciences. #
In 2012, Council approved a new student housing complex on West Main—now some council members are questioning whether what they were shown matches what was built. #
The Architectural Review Board has approved a bike-themed mural on West Market, below the McGuffey Art Center, although at least one member expressed concerns that it might look like the bicyclists were riding away from Charlottesville’s downtown. #
City Police Chief Tim Longo is meeting with city leaders to work on protocols regarding the use of military surplus police weapons in Charlottesville. #
A 100-year-old Colonnades resident received military honors for her service in the WWII Women’s Army Corps #
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I think it’s a darned good thing that the police officer kept a cool head. If I were to see two big, burly men chasing a teenage girl down the railroad tracks, tackling her, and holding her down, I think I might get the wrong idea.
Looks like a good outcome. Hope she gets some help.
Scott
Sounds like everything worked the way it was supposed to.
You harldy ever hear about trains stopping in time. She was very fourtunate. Hopefully she can resolve her issues in a different manner.
Go girl! Thats no cry for help! Thats a sign of someone who means business!
I’m sure she’s as shocked as all of us are that the train stopped in time.
Wow, the train conductors really saved the day this time. Not only stopping in time(!), but chasing her down and making sure that she’s going to get help. Nice to see them going out of their way to do the right thing.
I’ve read somewhere that a locomotive engineer who’s been on the job for 20 years has something like a 99.9% likelihood that they’ll witness a suicide by train. That’s gotta be a nasty experience. Glad to see these guys were able to do something about it.
How do you know she has issues? Perhaps she has an inoperable brain tumor and every moment of existance is filled with crippling pain?
You cant judge someone else, especially from a little write up in the paper. You dont know her, you dont know that she made a mistake. Simply because it is overwhelmingly likely that she was making a mistake, doesn’t mean she actually was.
Yep, you’re right. I’m always amazed on how fast people come to an easy to accept explanation…
Well, you cant blame them. I mean, easy to accept explanations are really all we have to go on.
Like, when I see a walnut, I think "hey, thats a walnut" but I dont really know if it is or not. It could be a shaped and colored lump of wax, or an indonesian fru-fru tree seed. I dont know, I’ve just seen those before and I was told it was a walnut, so when I see something similar, I think, oooh! I know I know! *waves hand frantically at teacher* its a WALNUT!
It’s rare when we look and say, oh, its a walnut, OR SO YOU’LL HAVE ME BELIEVE!
It’s not always suicide in the general sense. Often it is some idiot trying to shave 2 minutes off his commute.
<i>How do you know she has issues? Perhaps she has an inoperable brain tumor and every moment of existance is filled with crippling pain?</i>
<p>Then she’ll be released from Region Ten and can go about killing herself in a way that’s hopefully unfair to less people.</p>
How do you know she has issues? Perhaps she has an inoperable brain tumor and every moment of existance is filled with crippling pain?
Then she’ll be released from Region Ten and can go about killing herself in a way that’s hopefully unfair to less people.
Well, again, you’re right.
BUT, what interests me are the implications of your comment. You talk about walnuts and that’s good. I talk about minimum wages and welfare, whereas people think that by “toughening” standards, more welfare recipients will “decide to take life by the horns” and work hard. Statement which is, as most that live for a real length of time within that environment will tell you, is utter bullshit (= wishful thinking). You can’t provide for yourself at 5 bucks an hour, let alone young children with huge childcare costs.
Wishful thinking in America is relying on private insurance companies to do the right thing when it comes to healthcare.
Unfounded optimism is believing in our very own dynasty / redneck president when he says he’s thinking about national interests when he wants to take on Iraq solo and he’s not trying to avoid talking about America’s fading economy.
Wishful thinking is continuing to buy and operate hulking SUVs to drive to the mall or get milk and trusting our scientific community to solve our shrinking natural resources and our pollution problems.
Of course, as you suspect, I can link this story to every predicament out there. And you know what? I’d be right!
ok, Lars, put down the crack pipe. You are making no sense!
Just because I make no sense, doesn’t mean I’m smoking crack. Frankly, comparing me to a crack addict is an insult to hard working crack smoking americans everywhere. It could be that I’m just completely insane, or that you have no capacity for understanding the sense I’ve placed before you for examination. So many possibilities….
I agree with what will said below. I dont know that girl, if she is determined to kill herself, I hope she does so in a manner that doesnt cause horrible post traumatic stress to train engineers. Might I suggest inhaling carbon monoxide through a non-rebreathing mask? Did the trick for Kevorkian’s patients.
SHUSH! They’re listening to our every word!
*pans eyes to and fro in a paranoid manner*
SHHHHH!!!
hahaha!! it just gets better! Its about time this site got some humor!
No doubt! And that’s what my tax dollars (and yours) are really ‘at work’ doing…
In it’s continuing efforts to tighten security in our country, the government has been reorganizing it’s resources in many ways. Possibly most frightening is the creation of The Office of Information Awareness.
I’d love to believe this is a joke but it is housed on the DARPA website. The front page says:
The logo for this new program is the “All Seeing Eye” often associated with the Illuminati. I can’t believe they sat down and said, “Let’s utilize the symbol of a ‘shadowy network that is difficult to identify and define’ ” for our logo. An organization that not only already enrages a small segment of the population but which has, presumably, ties among three other “shadowy” groups such as the Freemasons, the Order of Jesuits and a radical Islamic sect (founded in what is now modern day Afghanistan no less!) And, on top of all of this, to give it the acronym “I.A.O.” was a bit stupid, as it is an acronym basic to Aleister Crowley’s mysticism.
Judging by their stated areas of research, I think the plan is to marry ‘psychic spying’ with Echelon technology; thus the use of a recognized occult symbol for a logo. How’s that for your tax dollars at work?
IAO got it’s first director on February 13, 2002, the “unscrupulous” John Poindexter. The former National Security Advisor under Ronald Reagan was convicted of conspiracy, lying to congress, destroying evidence in the Iran Contra scandal, defrauding America and has been accused of cocaine smuggling by Costa Rican government (according to the Guardian)
Poindexter had already been working for years with DARPA to develop Genoa, an intelligence mining, and information harvesting system. Basically it is designed to listen in on our electronic conversations. The Information Awareness Office employs Poindexter’s Genoa and an advanced version called Genoa II.
You can be sure that he authorized the logo in order to thumb his nose at congress and give them a little reminder of just how much power Bush has really given him. Since Poindexter had his convictions overturned in 1990 (in exchange for testimony), Dubya feels the American public need not worry that such a man is at the helm of America’s new surveillance behemoth. I guess he figures that conspiring against the American public (again) is above the character of Mr. Poindexter. Mr. Skull & Bones thinks you should have faith in your new Big Brother. The All-Seeing-Eye is protecting you.
Thanks, now I’ve got another reason to be pissed at my tax bill ;-)
Sans kidding, the reason dubbya explains his dubious dealings to himself probably goes something like this: "We’re at war [with terrorism] and war ain’t always pretty [or upfront]. I’m doing this in the interest of the American People and that’s why they elected ME. I did say ME, didn’t I? ME and ME and ME. Hey, how cool ME is!!!"
Justifications are never in short supply for anything, are they?
Well, I have no idea how he explains anything to himself. All I know is cspan has some really confused senators asking why people we dont trust are hiding things from the congress. "They" are doing "things" in "places" with "moneys" for "reasons".
Constitution shmonstitution… Daddy bought the supreme court for me. :P I dont have to tell you what my agenda is. I believe the technical term is "Tough titties".