A 32 year old man from Accrington threw himself in front of a train just hours after filling a skip with everything he owned.
Christopher Reynolds died instantly after suffering massive head injuries on a stretch of track located between Rishton and Church in Lancashire.
Mr Reynolds suffered from learning difficulties at school and had never been employed. In an inquest into the suicide, the court heard how Mr Reynolds stood in front of the train and adopted a ‘crucifix pose’ as it hurtled towards him at nearly 50 mph.
Anthony Reynolds, father of Christopher, told the court how his son had become a bit of a recluse in the months leading up to his death but that everything seemed fine with him on the day of his suicide. Only ten days earlier Christopher had hired a skip but Anthony was unaware of his son’s plans.
“I don’t know why he did it but he put everything from the house in the skip,” Mr Reynolds said before adding, “I didn’t know until it had been done, otherwise I would have talked him round.”
The driver of the train, Geoffrey Cowell, described how after switching of an automatic alarm just outside Rishton he looked up to see a man on the tracks staring up at the train and putting his arms out in a crucifix pose.
Mr Cowell applied the brakes immediately but it was too late and the train didn’t stop until 200 metres further down the line.
