Whitman high school student fatally struck by commuter rail train

The South Shore community is mourning the loss of a Whitman-Hanson Regional High School student who was struck and killed by an MBTA commuter rail train Tuesday evening.

Authorities were notified of the crash around 8:30 p.m., officials said in a news release. The female student was walking across train tracks in Whitman when she was struck by a southbound Kingston Line train. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

A 45-year-old Billerica man was also struck and killed by a train Tuesday evening, The Boston Globe reported. At 8:23 p.m., he was hit by a train on the Lowell line traveling from Wilmington Station to North Billerica Station. No foul play is suspected.

State and Transit police are investigating the Whitman crash, authorities said.

“We are all tremendously saddened to hear of this tragic loss. Our thoughts and condolences go out to the family and friends of this student and all those who knew them,” Whitman-Hanson High School Superintendent Jeffrey Szymaniak said in a news release. “We also extend our condolences to our friends at East Bridgewater High School, who were also affected by this tragedy.”

The superintendent said grief counselors will be available to students over the coming weeks.