Fencing around railway tracks

Crisis Response Teams have been dispatched to both Shuswap Middle and Salmon Arm Secondary schools following the death of a student over the weekend.

Bradley Jackson, 16, was killed early Sunday morning when he was hit by a train.

RCMP Staff Sgt. Kevin Keane says police believe Jackson was alone at the time of the incident and intoxication was not an issue.

Keane says there appears to be no connection between the death of Jackson and that of Tyrel Colton Goerzen.

Goerzen, 19, was killed last Wednesday after playing chicken with an oncoming train.

A second individual was with Goerzen at the time, however, Keane says Jackson was not that person.

Jackson is the third person killed on the tracks in Salmon Arm this year.

In April, 97-year-old Carl Shoemaker was killed as he attempted to cross the tracks on Lakeshore Drive.

Shoemaker suffered from both hearing and sight loss.

Salmon Arm Mayor Marty Bootsma says fencing has been erected in the area where Shoemaker tried to cross.

As for last weeks incident, Bootsma says Goerzen was taking risks.

"I don't know what kind of safety measures you could do to prevent that sort of thing," says Bootsma.

"We are in contact with CP quite regularly and safety is always a concern."

Bootsma says any time a railway passes through a community there are always safety concerns.

"The tracks have always been a problem coming through town. The issues on the Trans Canada Highway are probably just as bad if not worse. I don't want to single out CP because I think any time a community has tracks going through it you will find fatalities."

Bootsma adds it is shocking and tragic when it does happen.