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Teacher says MU student struck by train was full of potential
Friday, April 20, 2007
A single bouquet of flowers rests among the gray stones at the South Locust Street rail crossing remembering a woman whose life was tragically cut short when a train struck her over the weekend.
Beth Speidel was blossoming in her first year at Miami University. A transfer student from Ashland University, Speidel's professors said the sophomore was making progress in her studies as a speech pathology major.
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"She was very well liked by her classmates," said Laura Kelley, who was to have Speidel in class next year. "She seemed to be making friends very easily."
Now her classmates must say goodbye to the young woman they just met last fall. As her friends were driving to Strongsville to pay their respects earlier this week, police were still investigating the events during the last night of her life.
According to police, Speidel was highly intoxicated when she wandered to the Locust Street crossing at about 1 a.m. Saturday. Police suspect the southbound CSX train hit Speidel around 1:45 a.m. during its regular crossing time.
It was not until nearly two hours later at 3 a.m. that a northbound Amtrak train operator spotted Speidel's body at the crossing. Authorities were contacted immediately. As the southbound CSX freight train, hauling 53 cars, rolled into Hamilton, the operator was told of the woman's death and stopped his train.
Police said the operator was unaware of the accident. According to police, he was traveling the posted speed limit of 35 mph and the gates were operating properly.
Hours before the accident, Speidel accompanied friends to an off-campus apartment Friday evening where alcohol was available, police said. From there, she visited two Uptown bars where her hands were marked with a black "X" and a stamp of a little blue hand. That was the last time any of her friends said they saw her.
"She was Uptown at several local establishments earlier in the evening and somehow got separated from her friends," Oxford Police Sgt. Jim Squance said. "They were looking for her and texting and calling her on her cell (phone)."
Alcohol abuse has plagued Miami University in the past. In March 2005, a freight train collided with 20-year-old David D. Brown's car at the Chestnut Street rail crossing. Police said the level of alcohol in his system was twice the legal driving limit of .08.
A month later, three Miami students died in a house fire weeks away from the end of the school year. The Butler County Coroner's Office said all three students had alcohol in their systems. The level of alcohol in one student was three times the legal driving limit. In Speidel's case, she was more than twice over the limit, the coroner said.
The university as well as the city have hosted forums since 2005 to discuss alcohol abuse. In 2006, Miami University barred beer delivery to its campus residence halls as part of a commitment to fighting alcohol abuse.
While Squance said it is hard to gauge the impact of education efforts on alcohol abuse, he said the city and the university must continue the struggle to keep students safe.
"We have to keep hammering away at the young people and tell them if you engage in binge drinking it can lead to tragedies," he said.
Contact this reporter at (513) 523-4139 or jgiordano@coxohio.com.
