A candlelight vigil is set to be held Friday evening as the community mourns the death of a teenage girl who was fatally struck by a train while walking to Barrington High School.
An autopsy performed Thursday on Marin Lacson, 17, of Barrington, showed she died as a result of blunt force injuries, according to Lake County Coroner Jennifer Banek.
The Metra Police Department, Barrington Fire Department and Barrington Police Department responded around 7:45 a.m. Thursday to the Union Pacific Railroad train tracks in the area of Main Street and Hough Street in Barrington.
Kyle Kinnamon told Lake and McHenry County Scanner he called 911 to report a collision between a pedestrian and a Metra train.
Officers and paramedics arrived and confirmed Lacson was dead at the scene, officials said. No one else was injured.
“This was a devastating accident that happened right in front of me on Route 59 before I got to the light at Main Street,” Kinnamon said, adding that the incident was not a suicide and the gates did not malfunction.
Kinnamon, who works in Barrington at an office two blocks away from the train crossing, said he watched the “life leave this poor girl’s eyes” as he was on the phone with 911.
“She was walking south and the westbound train had just gone through and she must have assumed that was the only one coming because she didn’t stop at the sidewalk, and as soon as she passed the gate the eastbound train came out of the fog and hit her,” Kinnamon said.
“It was all over in seconds,” he added.
Barrington School District 220 Superintendent Dr. Craig Winkelman said in an email to the school community that Lacson was a junior at Barrington High School who was in the Chinese Immersion Program.
Marin, who was also on the lacrosse team at the high school, previously attended Countryside Elementary School and Station Middle School.
“Please know we are continuing to do everything we can to help the BHS community cope with Marin’s passing,” Winkelman said.
The superintendent said that Lacson was accidentally struck by the train while walking to school.
A dense fog advisory was in effect at the time of the incident.
“Additional Barrington 220 counselors will continue to be on hand at BHS for any student needing support,” Winkelman said.
“We have established a specific team of adults at BHS for the purpose of supporting all of our students during difficult times like this. Additional support is also available for students at all of our school buildings who may need to talk to someone,” he added.
A candlelight vigil is set to be held at 6 p.m. Friday at Barrington Campus Life Center, 150 South Lageshulte Street in Barrington.
Isabella Benton, who was a fellow lacrosse teammate of Marin, said it would be a “very difficult” season without her.
“She’s just such a personality. She’s just so nice to everyone and it always made everyone feel welcome,” Benton said.
Metra reported all inbound and outbound train movement was halted Thursday morning near Barrington due to the incident, which involved train #634. Extensive delays were reported on the Metra UP-NW line.
Police shut down several intersections in downtown Barrington, including Main Street and Hough Street as well as Route 14 and Hough Street, during the investigation.