Westport, CT- Following information concerning injuries to Annette White which was received from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner (OCME), Westport Police Department detectives began to review video footage of the Saugatuck train station. Review of video footage of the Saugatuck River Bridge showed a westbound Metro North Railroad train stop on the bridge for approximately 20 minutes on December 26th.

This morning detectives also received a call from someone who had been a passenger on the same
train and who had watched news reports of the incident on television. The caller advised that the train made an emergency stop on the railroad trestle over the Saugatuck River just prior to the Saugatuck train station. The caller said that train personnel exited the train and the train was stopped for over 20 minutes.

This afternoon detectives and officers from the Westport Police Department, assisted by MTA Police, began a search of the railroad bridge and bridge piers. Westport Police divers, assisted by Westport Fire Department and the Fairfield Police Department Marine Division, searched the river waters below. Late this afternoon officer’s located a cell phone and one earring on a bridge pier directly below the track area where the train had been stopped on December 26, 2013. The cell phone and earring were confirmed as belonging to Annette White.

The injuries found by the OCME were consistent with someone who had been struck by a train. The belongings of Ms. White, located under the tracks where the Metro North Railroad train stopped, in addition to information regarding her whereabouts and possible plans for that evening developed during the investigation, indicates that Ms. White, who was not familiar with the area, had been crossing the railroad bridge over the Saugatuck River – but on the opposite side from the pedestrian walkway – when , along with train personnel exiting the train and searching around the lead car.she was struck by a westbound train.

At this time, the Westport Police Department will be working with the MTA Police Department to
determine the events leading up to Ms. White being struck by the train, however, the death as of this time appears to be accidental in nature.