College Baseball Player Dies at 18 After Being Struck by Train
Tomassino Offer was killed in an accident at railroad tracks in Wheaton, Illinois.
Wheaton College freshman baseball player Tomassino Offer died Sunday after being struck by a train in Wheaton, Illinois. He was 18.
The incident occurred around 10:15 a.m. near Main Street and Front Street, west of the college campus. Offer had stopped at the railroad tracks for a westbound freight train. According to a Metra spokesperson, after the first train passed, Offer began to cross the tracks and was struck by an eastbound freight train.
![Tomassino "Tommy" Offer sitting in a locker room.]( "Tomassino "Tommy" Offer sitting in a locker room.")
"Our team is grieving and our hearts are heavy as we grieve alongside Tommy’s family and friends," Wheaton baseball coach Matt Husted said in a statement. "This is a difficult time for us all; however, we have peace in knowing he was strong in his faith and that Christ is with him and those close to him." Husted described Offer as "sincere in all aspects of his life. He was joyful, but a competitor – all qualities that made him a great teammate." He added that Offer "was really interested in other people and showed them that they were important to him. He really connected with people in the Wheaton community beyond baseball. He had a large network of people on campus."
Offer, who was from Michigan, had been driving after attending church, according to ABC Eyewitness News. Rev. Santos Castillo of St. Michael Catholic Church said he spoke with Offer before he left, and the student was on his way to Chicago with a friend.
"I definitely saw him before he left, and he just waved at me, and together with his friend Joe, they were here together, and who would have know[n] that was the last time he’d be in church," Castillo said.
On Monday, students from Wheaton College and the surrounding community gathered at St. Michael Catholic Church to honor Offer. The college also held a separate memorial service on Sunday night.
Notre Dame Preparatory School in Pontiac, Michigan, also remembered Offer, their former student. "Tomassino Offer was an outstanding student and an even better young man. He was loved by his teachers and classmates and had many friends, including his soccer teammates with whom he won a state championship, and his baseball teammates."
The incident remains under investigation.