Bayport Man's Death on Tracks Ruled a Suicide

The Suffolk County Medical Examiner’s office has ruled the death of a 24-year-old Bayport man as a suicide, according to the MTA.

Matthew Omans was hit and killed at the Bayport Avenue crossing on the morning of March 9. This is the third suicide to have occurred on the railroad tracks between the communities of West Sayville and Bayport in the past two years.

On August 21, 2011, Stephen Caracost, 22, of Sayville, was killed by a train near McConnell Avenue in Bayport. Maryanne Cannon, 47, of Oakdale, died on August 6, 2010, on the tracks between Rollstone Avenue and Cherry Avenue in West Sayville.

According to the MTA the county medical examiner offices in Suffolk and Nassau make the final determination on whether a fatality on the tracks is a suicide or accident.

While the MTA Police does not have a figure regarding suicides in Suffolk or Nassau for 2012, the agency provided figures for the years 2007 to 2011.

In 2011 there were six in Suffolk and six in Nassau.

In 2010 there were nine in Suffolk and three in Nassau.

In 2009 there were three suicides on the tracks in Suffolk and nine in Nassau.

The year 2008 had three in Suffolk and four in Nassau.

The year of 2007 had nine in Suffolk and seven in Nassau.

The MTA said the figures do not represent a total as there were some suicide incidents in Queens and some incidents remain undetermined, according to MTA spokesman Salvatore Arena.

In 2009 the MTA, in a partnership with two local suicide prevention organizations, launched the LIRR Suicide Prevention Program, to deter suicides on railroad property through community outreach. 

The program provides experienced counselors to intervene and talk to callers considering suicide, and established a toll-free 24-hour hotline, (877) 5-TALK-TO-US (877-582-5586),  for individuals that may be contemplating suicide on LIRR property. 

According to material provided by the MTA, if the caller is on LIRR property, the counselor will immediately notify MTA Police and local police and direct them to the location. 

Since the program’s inception, the MTA said at least two cases in which a potential suicide was avoided as a result of this program.