May 29, 2008 6:25 pm US/Eastern
Family Mourns Loss Of Young Train Conductor
NEWTON (WBZ) ―
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Terrese Edmonds' family and friends say she was an ambitious young woman who loved her job as an MBTA train conductor.
WBZ
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Emergency crews worked for hours after the violent collision to pull Edmonds' body from the wreckage.
WBZ
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Family and friends of the 24-year-old MBTA conductor who was killed in Wednesday's train collision in Newton are mourning the loss of the ambitious young woman.
Terrese Edmonds of Roxbury was the operator of a two-car train that slammed into the back of another two-car train approaching Woodland Station outbound on the D branch of the Green Line about 6 p.m. The trains had about 200 passengers combined.
Edmonds was trapped inside the train for more than six hours as emergency crews tried to extricate her from the wreckage. MBTA officials announced late Wednesday night that she had died. Her body was pulled out overnight.
Edmonds' father Terry Jones frantically searched three area hospitals for his daughter, who he suspected earlier in the evening was the conductor stuck in the train. Early reports said the conductor had suffered serious injuries and was trapped inside the train.
Jones told WBZ he had tried to get in contact with his daughter by calling her cell phone but couldn't get in touch with her.
"She's not calling me back," Jones said. "It's killing me. I really want to hear from my daughter."
Jones said his daughter had been a train conductor for the MBTA since last summer. Her family said she loved her job.
"She waited for a long time for this job, so when it came through she quit all her other jobs and focused on this one," said Taishawn Harris, who is engaged to Edmonds' uncle. "That was to help her build her career and establish something."
"She was an inspiration to this neighborhood. We're gonna miss her a lot," said family friend Lorraine Marshall. "She loved her work. She was so excited to have that work because she struggled for a while trying to find work. When she got that job she was so happy. When I saw her with that jacket, I was like, 'You go girl.' We're going to all miss her."
The family is now struggling to cope with the loss of the inspiring young woman.
"I didn't sleep last night. I just kept seeing Terrese," said neighbor Delores Craft. "I have nothing but good stuff to say about her. She was a cool kid."
"She's fun, she's goofy, I love her, that's my little sister," said Edmonds' brother, Leon Edmonds. "She just makes everything brighten up when she comes around."
Edmonds is survived by her parents, her brother and her older sister.
The NTSB has launched a full investigation into the train collision. It could be up to 18 months before its findings are released.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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