Police: Unknown If Train Hopping College Grad Fell Or Jumped To Her Death In Bethlehem

Police still aren’t sure if the 21-year-old Easton woman who died on May 12 after train-hopping fell or leapt to her death, they said Wednesday.

Taylor Brown, who had just graduated May 10 from Susquehanna University, hopped a freight train at some point in the night on that Tuesday with her boyfriend.

By about 10:45 p.m., however, when the train was passing through Bethlehem near Second Street, they either jumped or fell off the train.

Brown was killed by the incident, and her boyfriend was hospitalized.

It’s the first case of “train hopping” discovered in Northampton County in 20 years, according to the Morning Call.

The Norfolk Southern train which the couple hopped was traveling on a stretch of track that is rated at 40 miles per hour, according to spokespersons for the railway.

Brown was an English and creative writing major who planned to enter the publishing business after attending Columbia University for graduate school.

Friends of the Brown family have established a fund to assist in funeral costs and related expenses as they deal with the sudden passing of Taylor. Donations may be made here.