Headline distorts suicide story

Yesterday another Metra train was accused of murder. Well, not in so many words, but ... when you read, "Train strikes, kills woman", images of the train's leaping from its rails and chasing the woman down come to mind.

According to the deputy coroner who got stuck with ugly duty, the death was likely a suicide. The in-cab video from the train will show the coroner exactly what the woman did as the train approached.

What else is going to happen if you stand inside the "gates" while a train passes? Or if you then step into the path of the train?

A resident at a nearby house had seen the woman, 61, standing between the crossing gate and the tracks as the train approached. Lucky for him that he turned away and did not see the woman when she was hit by the train. That's an image you don't need in your mind.

But the article stepped further away from the truth when it stated, "The woman was discovered near Short and Railroad streets." Discovered? What the reporter meant to say was that the woman's body was on the ground at that spot when police and rescue arrived. Wouldn't you say "discovered" when it is found after a search or found by surprise?

Anybody thinking about suicide? Before you do, call me and ask me what my hypnotherapy mentor/teacher told a patient in California in the 1950s. And watch Life After Life with me, a video made by research psychiatrist Raymond Moody, M.D., about the near-death experience. You might think you are solving your problems by checking out. You aren't.

Or call 800.892.8900, the McHenry County (Ill.) Crisis Line, or just go straight to the hospital and tell them you are thinking about spoiling some train engineer's day or creating a mess for some unlucky personnel to clean up. Or call 9-1-1. Or flag down a cop or a fireman.

This might sound harsh to some readers. I say, "Get real." If you are thinking about it, ask for help right now. And, if you even think someone is about to commit suicide, call for help for him or her.