Conductor leapt into water to save Sandwich Road accident victim

The conductor of the Massachusetts Coastal Railroad train that hit and killed 56-year-old Dorchester fisherman Christopher Cater on the Narrows railroad bridge on Thursday, June 8 jumped into the water to save him, according to the president of the railroad. 

“When the train stopped, the conductor ran out of the car to see if he could find the individual,” said Massachusetts Coastal Railroad President and CEO Christopher Podgurski, “and he jumped into the water in an attempt to find him and was unsuccessful.” 

Cater, who was trespassing on the bridge at the time of the accident, was pulled out of the water by two construction workers and taken to Tobey Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. 

The train was a “trash train” headed to Yarmouth from the SEMASS Resources Recovery Facility in Rochester.

According to the Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office, the train was traveling at 25 miles per hour, its top speed, and sounded its horn multiple times to warn Cater of its approach. 

State Police are investigating the incident. 

The Wareham Police Department has not responded to multiple requests for further comment.