The Bucks County coroner has determined a 27-year-old Tullytown man died by suicide Saturday when he was struck and killed by an Amtrak train near the Levittown rail station.
Following an autopsy, Dr. Joseph Campbell said Sunday he determined George Redner III, a volunteer fireman and emergency medical technician, died of multiple injuries after he was struck by the southbound train around 10:15 a.m.
Tullytown police found Redner’s car parked at the train station; he also left a note, Tullytown police Chief Daniel Doyle said. Campbell said Redner’s remains were released to his family Saturday night.
On Sunday, friends and family filled social media with tributes to Redner — known as “Reds” — who worked as an EMT for the Bucks County Rescue Squad in Bristol Township and a full-time firefighter at Six Flags Great Adventure park in Jackson, New Jersey, since 2013. He also volunteered with the Edgely Fire Co. in Bristol Township.
Doyle said that Redner was about to start classes at the Philadelphia Fire Academy.
“It is with the deepest sadness and regret that the officers and firefighters of the Six Flags Fire Department announce the sudden and untimely passing of full-time Firefighter George R. Redner III,” the Six Flags department posted in a statement. “At this time we ask for your thoughts and prayers with George’s family and friends. George will be greatly missed by all. We love you brother. Rest easy.”
Langhorne-Middletown fire Chief Frank Farry changed his Facebook profile pictures to honor and remember Redner.
“On behalf of the Langhorne-Middletown Fire Co. our thoughts are with the Redner family, Edgely Fire Co., and everyone else impacted by George Redner passing. If we can be of assistance during this difficult time please let us know,” Farry wrote.
His father, George Jr., is a lieutenant at the Tullytown Fire Co., and his mother, Jacqueline Redner, is vice president of the Pennsbury School Board.
On its Facebook page, the Bucks County Rescue Squad shared a link, http://www.nvfc.org/help, to the National Fire Council’s “Share the Load” program, which provides access to resources and information to help first responders and their families manage and overcome personal and work-related problems.
The train that struck Redner was an Amtrak 663, operating as the Keystone Service from New York to Philadelphia and on to Harrisburg, carrying 304 passengers, according to Amtrak spokesman Craig Schulz. No injuries were reported to any passengers or crew, he said.
The train was briefly held for an investigation and other trains operated through the area at a restricted speed, causing some congestion and delays, Schulz said. The passengers were transferred to a nearby SEPTA train station for travel into Philadelphia’s 30th Street Station, he said.
SEPTA, which shares tracks with Amtrak, suspended regional rail service along the Trenton line for about an hour between the Croydon station in Bristol Township and the Trenton station in New Jersey. Service along the line resumed around noon.
The fatality is the second this year along the Northeast Corridor in Bucks County.
In January, a 65-year-old Bensalem man was killed after he was struck by an Amtrak Acela train near the Croydon station. Witness accounts suggested the man died by suicide, police said.
Jo Ciavaglia: 215-949-4181; email: jciavaglia@calkins.com; Twitter: @jociavaglia
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