Man Found Burning On Top of Metro-North Train Has Died

The 21-year-old man who was found ablaze on top of a Metro-North commuter train which had stopped in Riverside early Sunday,reportedly has died.

Brien McClellen, an Ohio native living in New York, suffered burns over 85 percent of his body, Metro-North spokesman Meredith Daniels said Monday. McClellen was found by a train crew who were investigating why the 5:02 a.m. train from Stamford to Grand Central Terminal lost power while it was stopped at the Riverside train station.

It was 5:07 a.m. when the crew spotted someone afire on top of the train. The crew grabbed a fire extinguisher and doused the flames that engulfed McClellen who, on his Facebook page described himself as an actor and model from Cleveland, OH living in New York City. He was taken to Westchester County Medical Center Burn Unit suffering burns over 85 percent of his body, according to rail officials.

In an interview McClellen’s agent Ryan Colby told The New York Post that McClellen died Monday morning. A Westchester Medical Center spokesman did not return messages seeking comment.

Posted to his Facebook page were numerous tributes from friends and relatives. His aunt, Patty Waugaman McClellen wrote, “My dear nephew Brian, my heart aches this morning. I will miss you dearly, your beautiful smile, your warm personality, and your positive outlook on life. You were such a wonderful joy to us all. Be at peace, it was too soon for you to be taken from us all, you will be in our hearts forever.”

McClellen had attended North Royalton High School in the Cleveland area, according to his Facebook profile.

“Police are investigating how he came to be on top of the train and why,” Metro-North spokesman Meredith Daniels said Monday afternoon. “We don’t know for sure if he touched the pantograph or the catenary wires,” Daniels said. The wires are connected to the pantograph which feeds 12,500 volts of power to the trains.

On Sunday, a railroad spokesman said Metropolitan Transit Police were trying to confirm that McClellen was a passenger aboard the train before the incident.

The 20 passengers aboard the first train of the day on Sunday were transferred to another train to continue their trips to New York.

Photo: Brien McClellen. Credit: Sinem Yazici via Facebook.

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