Boy electrocuted at SEPTA train depot

NORTH PHILADELPHIA. The grandmother of the 11-year-old boy electrocuted in a SEPTA railroad depot Saturday questioned yesterday why there was no security.

Two SEPTA workers found Jewel Angelo in Wayne electric facility in Germantown Sunday morning. According to SEPTA officials, the boy was at a block party on East Elwood Street several blocks away before he got into the station, climbed on top of a parked train and touched the device that carries power to the trains.

Though the station is gated and locked, people can gain access by walking along the tracks that converge in the yard.

SEPTA said it is not feasible to have security at all of its facilities and that agencies around the country have struggled with securing private rail yards.

“The problem is it’s just not practical to fence in 240 miles of railroad tracks,” said James Jordan, SEPTA’s assistant general manager of Public and Operational Safety. “We will certainly think through it. We’re open to [suggestions].”

Annette Porter, the boy’s maternal grandmother, said her grandson would not have wandered into the station alone.

Jewel’s father, Raymond Wagstaff, referred all questions to attorney Alan Zibelman, who said no decision has been made regarding legal action.