Professor was killed by train at pedestrian crossing. Now widow sues in Massachusetts

A widow has filed a wrongful death lawsuit after her late husband, a 42-year-old professor, was struck and killed by an oncoming train while biking through a pedestrian crossing on the tracks in Massachusetts.

Moses Shumow was trying to catch a train at the Beverly Depot train station the day of his death in October 2019, according to the lawsuit. At the time, he was a newly hired journalism professor at Emerson College in Boston after moving to Massachusetts from Miami, where he formerly taught at Florida International University and lived with his family.

In the decade before his death, five people were previously struck by trains at the same train station, including another man who died in 2017 after a train collision, according to the lawsuit filed in federal court on Sept. 26.

Rose Shumow, of Florida, says her husband’s death is a direct result of negligence and is suing the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority, Keolis Commuter Services, LLC, the train’s operator when Moses Shumow died, and the City of Beverly, according to a complaint.

MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo told McClatchy News that the agency prefers not to comment on pending litigation and Keolis Commuter Services spokeswoman Alana Westwater told McClatchy News the company does not comment on pending litigation. McClatchy News has also contacted Beverly city officials, and has attempted to contact the man who operated the train when it struck Moses Shumow on Oct. 6.

The complaint argues that the commuter train that struck Moses Shumow was traveling too fast, at a speed higher than permitted by the Northeast Operating Rules, and no train horn was sounded to alert the professor it was coming.

“Shumow first became aware of the train when he was on the tracks, directly in front of the train,” the complaint states. “At the Beverly Depot, pedestrians are permitted to cross in front of the oncoming trains, which causes a dangerous condition to exist.”

Rose Shumow’s lawsuit seeks at least $75,000 as compensation and demands a trial by jury.

The lawsuit

The complaint states Moses Shumow died “as a direct and proximate result of the gross negligence” of each of the defendants.

On Oct. 22, 2019, Moses Shumow was riding his bicycle when he was “immediately struck” and killed by a train along the tracks while in the pedestrian crossing around 8:15 a.m., according to the complaint. The commuter train was owned by the MBTA and operated by Keolis.

Just 10 seconds before the collision, several pedestrians and a dog had made their way along the same pedestrian crossing Moses Shumow used, according to the complaint.

“Despite the substantial risk of injury to pedestrians,” the complaint says the train station was lacking “automatic gates, warning lights, buzzers, signs, signals, signalmen or flagmen, gates, crossbucks, pavement markings or other safety devices to warn pedestrians of the approaching trains.”

While the lawsuit notes five people have been previously struck by trains at the Beverly Depot, it asserts “there have been numerous other injuries and fatalities involving pedestrians being struck by trains within the City of Beverly,” and cited a number of examples.

Meanwhile, the man operating the commuter train is accused of not sounding a horn when the train entered the Beverly Depot as required under state and federal law.

If he did sound the horn, Moses Shumow would have noticed the train approaching, preventing his death, according to the lawsuit.

The complaint also says the City of Beverly previously banned the use of train horns within city limits after it claimed to have applied for “Quiet Zone” status. It argues that the city never qualified for quiet zone status, and that the MBTA and Keolis “knew or should have known” this.

The lawsuit accuses the MBTA, Keolis and the train’s operator in the train’s alleged speed exceeding the local speed limit within the city on the day of Moses Shumow’s death, according to the filing.

Since Rose Shumow represents the estate of Moses Shumow, the lawsuit says she is “entitled to recover damages.”

In addition to working as a professor, Moses Shumow had previously produced documentaries for PBS, National Geographic, History Channel and Discovery, according to an Emerson College statement.

Before joining Emerson College in the fall of 2019, he was a journalism and media professor at Florida International University for nine years, the statement said.

In 2005, Moses Shumow and Rose Shumow moved to Miami, where they later had three children according to his obituary. He was described as a “stalwart member” of the Biscayne Park community and enjoyed recreational activities with his friends and family.

“In his short time at Emerson, Moses taught courses in Community Participation and Digital Storytelling, quickly becoming a favorite of students,” Moses Shumow’s obituary states.

Beverly is 25 miles northeast of Boston.

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