Jefrey Josue Ordonez, 16, was struck on a railroad bridge south of the Merritt 7 station as a train approached Norwalk.
NORWALK, Conn. — The death of a 16-year-old Norwalk boy struck by a Metro-North train last week has been ruled an accident by Connecticut’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, providing a new official finding in the fatal incident near the Merritt 7 station.
Jefrey Josue Ordonez died after a southbound train traveling from Danbury toward South Norwalk struck him shortly after 8 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 5, according to Metropolitan Transportation Authority police. The medical examiner determined that his death was accidental and resulted from a blunt impact injury to the head.
MTA police said Ordonez and two other people were on the railroad tracks without authorization before the collision. The two others, a 17-year-old and a 20-year-old, were detained and charged with trespassing. Authorities have not released additional details explaining why the group was on the tracks.
The collision occurred on a bridge south of the Merritt 7 train station, creating a difficult rescue scene for Norwalk firefighters. Deputy Fire Chief Adam Markowitz said crews responded behind a building along Main Avenue after receiving a report that someone had been struck by a train.
When firefighters arrived, two people were being escorted from the tracks by police. They told responders that another person was beneath the train. Crews found Ordonez under a rail car between two sets of tracks on a bridge over a river, according to the fire department.
The bridge location sharply limited access for rescuers and created a serious fall hazard. Firefighters, medics and police worked to remove Ordonez from beneath the rail car, bring him into a passenger car and move him several car lengths to a point where he could be transferred to a stretcher and taken to an ambulance.
Markowitz said the operation to remove Ordonez from beneath the train took about 15 minutes. He was transported to Norwalk Hospital, where MTA police said he was pronounced dead at 9:39 p.m.
About 25 passengers were aboard the Metro-North train at the time. They were transferred to another train, and no passengers or members of the train crew were reported injured. Service on Metro-North’s Danbury Branch was temporarily suspended while emergency crews and investigators worked at the scene.
Danbury Branch service resumed at 11:05 p.m. Wednesday, Metro-North said. The medical examiner’s finding establishes the manner of Ordonez’s death as accidental, while police have said the two people who were with him face trespassing charges.
Author note: Last updated August 10, 2026.