A Man Dies on a Railway Track

In September 2017 near Swineshead UK there was a man who was sitting on a railway track like if it wasn't dangerous at all. When suddenly a train came and ... there is no need to explain what happened with that man after that. The driver put his breaks but he did not manage to stop on time and the inevitable happened - the man died instantly. Was it a suicide?

Probably your first thought was that he came on the railway on purpose because he did not want to live anymore. But, that is probably not true. This 74 years old man had a loving family and plenty of plans for the future. At the Coroner's Court in Boston UK his daughter described him as funny and friendly. Unfortunately, since March 2017 He stopped recognising familiar people and places. Sometimes, he didn't know what year it was and on several occassions he asked the same question repeatedly, forgetting that he had already said it before. Besides, he wandered off a few times not knowing where and why, and without telling anyone. So, he went to see a doctor with his daughter to say about these issues and so his GP referred him to a memory clinic but he did not live long enough to see a specialist. He was already dead when the letter with a date of his apppointment came.

Another issue was that he suffered from diabetes and at the time of death he had very low level of sugar. He was forgetful so his partner was supposed to meaure his sugar level regularly and to keep a diary. But, she probably hasn't done it as the blood test results indicate. It could also contribute or on its own cause his confused state of mind.

Nevertheless, this elderly man went on a railway and because of lack of CCTV cameras in this place we will never know what he was doing there. Maybe he didn't know where he was, we simply don't know.

But, a few conclusions can be made from this story. Firstly, when an older person starts to have problems with memory it is best to ensure that he has close supervision at all times so that he would not go anywhere by himself. Secondly, close relatives should ensure that older people take their medications regularly (or level of sugar is checked like in this case) and not rely on others to do it.




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