Deaf man killed by train

A deaf Erie man was accidentally struck and killed by a train, one day after his 19th birthday.

Police said a train struck and killed Devon Chambers at 2:04 p.m. Friday while he was walking home along CSX and Norfolk Southern Railroad tracks east near 16th and Myrtle streets.

Erie County Coroner Lyell Cook said Chambers, of East 11th Street, was killed instantly by the train that was moving at 30 mph.

Cook said the death was accidental because it appeared Chambers did not hear the train approaching.

He could not hear the train, his family said, because he was deaf."I'm sure he didn't hear the horn from the train. I'm thinking maybe he thought he could cross the tracks without any problem," said Carlotta Freeman, Chambers' cousin and family spokeswoman. "We have busy streets over here. He knows to slow down and pay attention.

"She said Chambers' birthday was Thursday. Because of conflicting events, the birthday party and cookout was rescheduled for Friday afternoon at Chambers' home."We wanted to have all the family together," Freeman said.

She said police notified Chambers' mother, Nicki Chambers, at her place of employment about her son's death. Nicki Chambers declined to comment Friday evening.


Freeman described her cousin as fun-loving, an avid basketball player and a huge fan of hanging out at the Trinity Center, 462 W. 18th St.

She said the Chambers family recently moved to their home on the west side. It was Devon Chambers' nephews who told him about a shortcut over the railroad tracks to the Trinity Center, which is where he was coming from Friday.

Attempts to reach an official at the Trinity Center were unsuccessful.

Freeman said the birthday party was going to be the last major celebration for the family before Chambers returned to the Western Pennsylvania School for the Deaf in Pittsburgh later this month.

Erie police detectives are investigating the details of the case.