By Katie Curley Katzman
NEWBURY — The last man to speak to Richard Witkiewicz before he was fatally struck by an MBTA train Saturday night says he doesn't believe Witkiewicz walked in front of the train, contrary to what MBTA officials are saying.
Retired Haverhill Police officer Witkiewicz, 63, was killed by an MBTA commuter train arriving in Newburyport station at 5:32 p.m. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The incident has been ruled an accident by District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett's office, as well as MBTA officials investigating the incident.
According to MBTA spokeswoman Lydia Rivera, Witkiewicz was crossing the tracks in a pedestrian crosswalk when he was struck by the train. The crosswalk connects the station's main parking lot to an elevated platform where passengers get on and off the train.
Mike Early, owner and operator of London Livery taxi service, was the last known person to speak to the victim prior to his death. In the aftermath of the accident, Early said he is keeping in mind how fleeting life is.
Early disagrees with MBTA officials' account of the accident and said Witkiewicz was not on the tracks at the time of impact.
Early had been talking with Witkiewicz for about 10 minutes as they waited for the train to arrive. Early was parked at a taxi stand near the entry to the platform in the lot next to Route 1.
"He was standing next to my car; we were both next to the track. When he saw the train coming, he said, 'I got to go; I'll be calling you. I want to take a ride in your cab,'" Early recalled yesterday. "Then he just walked away from the cab, and the train was coming into the station full force. He stepped inside the fence where you are supposed to stand, and he must have made a misstep, and the train clipped him."
Yesterday, Rivera would say only that the accident remains under investigation, but it appears it was accidental.
Early said reports Witkiewicz was hit straight on don't corroborate with the injuries he saw.
"I saw his body; it wasn't on the tracks, and if he stepped in front of a train going 30 miles per hour, he would have been mangled," Early said. "He had a severe head wound. He got clipped by the train."
Early said the train came into the station fast and stopped right in the middle of the crosswalk, preventing people from getting across. Early noted there were a lot of witnesses to the scene but wondered why few came forward.
Witkiewicz retired from the police department more than 25 years ago after suffering a leg injury. He was a graduate of Haverhill High School and served as a sergeant in the Air Force. Witkiewicz grew up on Canterbury Avenue in Haverhill and lived there until about a year and a half ago when he left to live with his girlfriend, his sister has said.
"This guy was a survivor. He made one false step, one miscalculation," Early said, noting Witkiewicz's career in the Air Force and Haverhill Police Department. "He's not the type of guy to make dumb moves and walk in front of a train."
