Metro has identified the 37-year-old Gaithersburg man who was found dead on the tracks near the Rockville station early Saturday as Benoy Chacko. The transit agency also now believes the pharmaceutical researcher may have been fatally struck by a train or a piece of rail equipment.
But the mystery remains as to why Chacko was on the tracks about 200 feet north of the station platform.
| Have a tip? |
| Metro asks anyone who may have information about Benoy Chacko or the part of the Metro system where his body was found early Saturday to call Metro Transit Police at 202-962-2121. |
His body was discovered in between the tracks at 3:07 a.m. by a crew of Metro workers traveling on a piece of equipment, Metro spokesman Dan Stessel said.
Initially investigators did not believe he had been hit by a train as he didn’t have obvious injuries and no trains or equipment showed signs of hitting someone. But an autopsy later determined he died of blunt force trauma to his upper body, Stessel said.
“It is possible the decedent may have been clipped by a passing train or a piece of equipment,” he said Monday.
It is not clear how or why Chacko got on the tracks, Stessel said. His farecard shows that he had boarded the system at Shady Grove station earlier that evening, according to Stessel. He then exited at Dupont Circle. He later got back on Metro at Dupont Circle. But his farecard shows he never exited at a faregate.
It is possible that he missed his stop or got off in the wrong place and decided to walk along the tracks, Stessel said. The last train toward Glenmont would have passed through Rockville station around 2:34 a.m., Stessel said, while the last passenger train of the night toward Shady Grove was supposed to go through there at 3:36 a.m.
It does not appear Chacko’s body had been on the tracks for long when he was discovered, Stessel said.
Investigators are reviewing videotape from the rail system and awaiting toxicology test results.
The Detroit native, who had a Ph.D. in biochemistry, worked at the MedImmune pharmaceutical company based in Gaithersburg where he studied antibodies and engineered protein-based medicines.
“He was an integral part of our team,” MedImmune spokeswoman Karen Lancaster said. “He had an outgoing personality which made the labs a fun place to work.”
Chacko’s sister, Kristina Mathews, said her brother was looking forward to celebrating his nephew’s 13 birthday and running a marathon. “Benoy was an exceptional person who loved life, his family, and friends,” she said. “He was loved and respected by all.”
