(Bethpage, Long Island, New York – August 18, 2012)
A 21-year-old United States Military Academy cadet from Littleton, CO was killed at about 8:15 P.M. Saturday evening as he walked along Long Island Railroad tracks and was hit by a Speonk, NY-bound LIRR passenger commuter train near the Stewart Avenue grade crossing in Bethpage, LI, NY.
Mitchel Tisdell was on leave from West Point when the tragedy occurred. As many as 76 trains utilize the tracks he was near daily at speeds as high as 80 mph.
Tisdell entered the USMA in 2009 and was a student in good standing, participant in numerous co-curricular activities, and scheduled to graduate next year.
Lt. Col. Bryan Hilferty, director of communications at West Point, said that an investigation into Cadet Tisdell’s tragic death was ongoing. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the Tisdell family during this difficult time,” said Col. Hilferty.
