Teen struck and killed by train

1. eva k.

April 30, 2008 @ 1:46 am

How can anybody be so sure that it was a suicide and not
an accident?
The conductor testified originally that he didn’t see the boy and only stopped the train afterwards.
How is that possible ? There is an open field there.No buildings,no trees - nothing. Impossible not to see a person running across the field to jump in front of the train.
IF YOU ARE ACTUALLY DOING YOUR JOB and PAYING ATTENTION,that is.
An autopsy can determine cause of death , not what was happening before it occured.
Something isn’t right here .Ff course the only person who could challenge the convienient version of suicide is no longer alive.

2. SandyK

April 30, 2008 @ 2:08 pm

Another example of irresponsible journalism that sickens and outrages us. While perhaps the Cook County Medical Examiner has rendered an OPINION, we will NEVER accept this as fact. Your insensitivity to this tragic, and beyond devastating loss this child’s family is suffering is beyond human comprehension. How could you write and publish such exploitation in the name of good journalism? Have you no moral fibre or even more simply, compassion? Shame on YOU! By the grace of God, may you never experience the tragic loss of a beautiful child’s life cut short.

3. Cathy

April 30, 2008 @ 11:13 pm

I cannot believe they would rule this anything but a tragic accident. I and many other people do not believe the ruling of suicide. It is beyond belief that the paper would even publish this horrible insult. We know in our hearts that it was a horrible accident that we all wish to God had never happened.
But it did and now we know Michael is in Gods hands. He had a
wonderful family and every reason to live.

4. Will

May 1, 2008 @ 8:46 am

I never knew Michael, but my son did and thought highly of him. This is tragic no matter how it happened, and it is hard to conceive how one could deal with this as a parent. My most sincere prayers for comfort and sympathies are with the parents and family of Michael.

However, I am not sure that I consider this irresponsible reporting. If that is in fact the best assessment of the investigation, I would prefer as a parent of another child and member of the community to know about it. Why? Because if in fact it appears to be suicide then this would make the second apparent suicide involving a Barrington High student and a train in six months. Can that be a coincidence or should this be something as a parents, schools and community that we attempt to understand and hopefully prevent in the future? I am fine with my son believing it was an accident and I truly want to believe it was as well.

However, I am finding it difficicult to conceive that two kids, 6 months apart can just accidentally wander in front of moving trains. If you are sitting in your car at the tracks waiting for a train with windows up and the stereo on full blast you can not only hear the train whistle but also feel it coming.

If this is another suicide, as parents, school and community shouldn’t we try to understand why? Wouldn’t that help us to assure this never happens again?

5. SandyK

May 1, 2008 @ 12:49 pm

Dear Will, You don’t consider “pouring acid into the gaping wounds” and broken hearts of grieving, devastated parents irresponsible reporting? Are you certain that the Cook County Medical Examiner’s OPINION or “best assessment” was based on circumstantial evidence without possibility of error and NOT on some political agenda (you must be aware of the proposed sale, and the atmosphere that surrounds such, of the rail line as well as any potential liability the rail company may have) for which this child and his family become pawns? Not everything which “appears” to be, actually is.

Do we really, as parents, need to affirm “coincidences” in our diligence in raising our teens? Certainly the national statistics speak for themselves.

Irresponsible journalism, as reflected in this article and others, is clearly represented by lack of forethought, compassion, and respect ~ but the reasons for this type of reporting are obvious. Sensationalism sells. Perhaps a good hard look at the “need to know” is merely the carnivore wishing to devour some fresh exploitation (for example, see the opening line, headline of this article) … and it’s sickening. With freedom of speech comes RESPONSIBILITY.

What if, in FACT, it is NOT as reported, then what? Is a “so sorry, Cecala Family” enough?

I just want to know what kind of thinking human being with an intact set of moral values would report this OPINION, represent it as fact and go about their day … and only because, what, “tragic accident” wasn’t good enough?

6. e.w

May 1, 2008 @ 8:12 pm

THIS DISGUSTS ME. i know your probably wondering why a student is on this. but i heard about this disturbing artice that is painfully untrue and hard to read.first off. this was NO suicide. i go to barrington hs. and knew mike. ive gone to school with him for 4 years. he was the last kid to have ever done something like this, ask anyone that knew him or of him. THIS IS NOT THE CORRECT STORY. and how can anyone even be sure from an autopsy that it was even a suicide. this angers me so much that someone could write such a thing on someone and a situation that they dont even have full evidence on. and considering you didnt even know him, how could anyone completly blame this on parents. it does seem logical that it would be a suicide. but not knowing him. he was happy funny and full of life all the time. and would have no reason to do this. show some sympathy. a 14 year old died and it affects everyone even if it was a suicide or not. did u ever think of getting the conducters prospective on this, the one that saw it all? well ask him and he will tell you.

7. e.w

May 1, 2008 @ 8:16 pm

and whenever something happens like this, how could you ever blame it soley on the parents? you have no reason to. and even if it was suicide like you say, [[it wasnt]] there aree too many aspects to suicide then “imperfect parenting”. this is horrible to say, and who ever wrote this OBVIOUSLY must not be a parent.

8. Adil

May 1, 2008 @ 8:19 pm

This article is outraging to anyone and everyone who knows Mike. Suicide and accidents are VERY different stories and causes of death. This report was made prematurely and deeming this tragedy a suicide is wrong. I knew Mike personally, and in no way, shape, or form was he anywhere close to a suicidal person.
The train had no horn, because the neighborhoods it went through were complaining about it being too loud. I believe from what I’ve heard was that Mike was listening to his iPod and walking. When he realized the train was coming, he tried to move, but tripped.

I can’t believe this article could say it was suicide.

9. er

May 1, 2008 @ 8:41 pm

I would like to start by saying I can’t believe that this article was even published. This event is extremely tragic for anyone that knew Mikey. He was a wonderful kid who was full of spirit. He made everyone around him smile. To say it was a suicide it outaging. It most certainly was not. He would never have done something like that. If you would have bothered doing any research before writing this article you would know that. The conductor’s story makes it perfectly clear that Mikey’s death was completely accidental. He was walking with his back to the tracks with headphones in. When he realized the train was coming he tripped and fell. Unfortunately, it was too late. An autopsy shows nothing but physical evidence. You can not reach into Mikey’’s mind through an autopsy. If that is not bad enough but to then have the title of your site being imperfect parents and the category “tragic endings.” Yes, everything about the situation is tragic but it has nothing do to with Mr. and Mrs. Cecala’s parenting abilities. They raised an amazing young man who unfortunately had to leave our world early. As if they aren’t heart broken enough, hopefully they have not seen this DISGUSTING article because. Finally, the way you start the article off, “One can only imagine what could possibly make a 14-year-old’s life so dark that he would choose to walk in front of a train.” is totally repulsive and horrible. This article needs to be taken off before others read it and are hurt by it. Your site in general has a terrible concept. Parents do everything they can for their the children and you are obviously not one.

10. minortopics

May 1, 2008 @ 9:08 pm

We are very sorry for the loss of your friend. We admit the headline was insensitive and we have changed it, we sincerely apologize. The initial line in the content was not meant to be hurtful, but rather asking the natural human response of “Why?” presuming that the coroner’s report was true. Since it was being read the wrong way, we have removed that as well. We did not write the article, it is an excerpt from an article in Courier News, which we thought the attribution links made obvious — we are not journalists, but are a news aggregator similar to Topix.

Nobody is placing any blame on this young man’s parents. Please do not make a loose connection between our domain name and this story. The name is simply an expression of how we as parents do the best we can and are not perfect — an unobtainable goal. We think that’s something most parents can agree with. Our site is not here to indict so-called bad parents. We cannot even *imagine* what his parents must be going through and no matter what the truth is we would not place blame on them.

11. Domenica

May 1, 2008 @ 9:38 pm

Outrageous!!!!! I am a close personal friend of Mikey’s mom. Lets talk about what all of this is doing to her. She pulled me aside at the funeral today and told me she knew about what has been written. She was sobbing, hunched over like an infant. How dare you write about how dark his life must have been. He was like a third son to me. Always happy, respectful, loving, and greatly loved. For your information, he got up that morning happy as usual, kissed his mom and hugged her. That’s the sign of someone with darkness in his life. I agree wholeheartedly with the above comments, irresponsible journalism doesn’t even scratch the surface. However, it does sell papers. Why don’t you reporters consider how this type of thing is going to effect the family and HIS MOM. This website is sickening. There was nothing dark about Mikey’s life. He was a good boy from a large very loving family. He lived for his family, his friends and his hockey. He played in a hockey tournament the day before. Does that sound like someone ready to end his life? My son was one of his best friends and said Mikey was so happy on Friday, looking forward to the weekend and hanging out. I hope everyone involved everywhere in every article and disgusting subtitle knows what you have done to this family and especially his Mom. I live by the railrod tracks and can hear the train and there was absolutely no whistle blown. Someone got ahold of someone and manipulated the truth just enough to publish this kind of crap just to perhaps limit the liability of the railroad. Now there’s a thought, why don’t you publish that!

12. MikeT

May 1, 2008 @ 10:13 pm

You are all very intelligent and well thought out reporters. So, how does it feel to be lied to? People close to the Cecala Family don’t appreciate it. I don’t care for trashy and uneducated people like you. I can’t even think of a word, not one single word, to describe how vial and disgusting these articles are.

Mikey was one of my best friends. He might have been the most genuine person anyone could ever know. Since the incident on Sunday, all I have been thinking about is the last things we said to each other. He asked me if I was busy over the weekend and I said, “No I’ll call you. We should definitely hang-out.”

Mikey was the kind of spontaneous person that you could never keep track of. He would show up on my bus by surprise and tell ME that he had canceled MY plans to hang out with him. He was the greatest. To even utter the word suicide in relation to Mikey is morally unjust and wrong. He was happy-go-lucky and always knew what to say. If you were down, he cheered you up. I am a freshman in High school at BHS and sadly only knew him since Fifth grade. But let me tell you, from the first time we saw each other, we automatically connected. I guess what I am trying to say is, reporters that put horrible things up like this are only making the situation worse. And it is sad that this story was the top story on some news programs. Dark, distressed, suicidal? These are the words that reporters are making Mikey out to be? Genuine, loyal, trustworthy, incredible. These are the words to remember Mikey Cecala by, and reporters will never be able to change that.

13. Audrey

May 2, 2008 @ 3:01 am

I did not know this young man but I go to school with his cousin, who was deeply affected by this horrible accident. I don’t see how a coroner can say it was suicide after a train accident, I also do not see how anyone can publish a horrible insensitive story that will most certainly reach the ears of friends and family. Think before you speak is an addidge that also applies to typing

14. k

May 2, 2008 @ 5:31 pm

it is virtually impossible to be “accidentally” struck by a train. even if you had headphones on and were listening to loud music, which would be an unconscionably stupid thing to do, you wouldn’t miss the rumbling of the train and the horn which would have been sounded at shoe factory crossing.
the kid obviously killed himself. if you are saying he didn’t, then you are calling the kid stupid.

15. Adil

May 2, 2008 @ 6:24 pm

First of all, “k”, your rude comments are the last thing people who cared about Mike need.
Second of all, did you know Mike personally? You clearly didn’t if you can even come close to saying this was not accidental.
Third of all, the train that comes by shoe factory road has no horn, nor does it travel fast enough to rumble the ground. When Mike was walking, he tripped and fell. Are you going to say that he fell purposely? Don’t you think if he was suicidal (which he wasn’t) that he would just stand there and not TRIP and FALL?
The kid OBVIOUSLY did not kill himself. Why don’t you check the many other articles about him? I’m sure those were posted up a little AFTER some research was done to find the cause of this tragedy. This article here was probably posted by someone like YOU (k) who thinks that it is “virtually impossible to be accidently struck by a train.”
And since you assume this, you have no problem making this opinion into a fact.

16. maha

May 2, 2008 @ 6:44 pm

I started reading the comments and had to stop. I am Michaels aunt and Godmother, I have the privelage and honor to say that. We are for lack of a better term devistated. Michael, weather he died because it was an accident or a choice he made or some lousy mistake or whatever else was a young boy full of love and life and for those of you who did not know him personally, I am sorry. I am sorry because you will never know his laughter and his warmth and his generosity. You will never know the qualities that made Michael Michael. There are so many amazing children out there that warm our hearts in some way in every family, children who touch our lives somehow everyday. Mikey was not the only one. He was special and I loved him and his mother and his father loved him but more importantly his brother Joey loved him. He is reading everything! He will be 16 in just a few short months and this will be the 2nd time in his life that his birthday will not be shared with his brother. The first time was the year Mikey wasn’t yet born and now. Their birthdays were only one month apart. Please put into perspective and take into consideration his feelings. It’s difficult enough as an adult to understand the trials we face in life and to make sense of the “unknown.” Imagine our children, all of them. How can we expect them to wrap their brains around why tradgedies happen? To the world I say this, Mikey was a young boy that was called upon by God (however you percieve him to be), for me it is Jesus, my Lord and and saviour and I thank him for the short time he shared Mikey with me and my family. It will never be forgotten.
I try and try to think of ways to express who he was to those who didn’t know and even to those who did, but unfortunately it was all in his big and beautiful hazel green eyes that mesmerized and in the smile that carried the big teeth that crossed his face and in the arms that were oddly long and embraced life and in the stride that carried his young and healthy body and in the heart that was open freely to the world that drew you in helplessly and in the innocent spirit that warmed the room unknowingly and in the soul of one of the most gentle and innocent people I have ever known and in the sound of his laughter that swallowed us whole and mostly in the God given talent to irritate the s*** out of us because he could. To you My precious Michael I say thank you my love for showing us all how we’re supposed to live and love and laugh. I believe that that was your lifes purpose and you fulfilled it in the greatest way. God rest you my love.
See you soon, Huma

17. er

May 2, 2008 @ 7:43 pm

Maha, I am very sorry for your loss. I can’t even imagine how incredibly awful this is on you and the rest of the family. Mikey was an incredible kid who was loved by everyone he came across. He was always smiling and could make anyone laugh. He will be greatly missed and I hope you and your family can someday take comfort in the fact that he is in a better place. All my thoughts and prayers are with you.

Rest in peace Mikey, we all love and miss you very much

18. er

May 2, 2008 @ 7:55 pm

“K” you may be the most unsensitive person I have ever come across and I know nothing about u except for your awful comment. To say that it is impossible to be accidentally struck by a train is completely false and very sickening. You should not go shooting off your mouth with out knowing what is going on first. Mikey was an AMAZING person and would NEVER have done something like that. If you would have read previous comments before posting yours you would have seen that the train did not use a horn. (You stupidly said you could not miss the sound of a horn.) Because you used absolutely no common sense and seem to have no compassion you are causing even more pain for people who are already heart broken. I hope you rethink your disgusting comments.

19. Conner

May 2, 2008 @ 8:04 pm

i am mikeys cousin and there was never an autopsy done according to mikeys death certificate so if you have the nerve to tell me that my cousin is suicidal than you can go jump in some freaking well for all freaking care

20. L.N.

May 2, 2008 @ 9:21 pm

K,you are stupid!!!! Obviosly you are very ignorant!!!! I wish it was you that was accidentally hit by the train instead of Mikey. If you knew him you would never say the awful things you have said about him and his family. He was an awesome kid who has wonderful parents and a brother who LOVE him very much!!! This was a tragic ACCIDENT,Mikey LOVED LIFE and would never have done anything to hurt his family on purpose….If you have nothing good to say about Mikey or his family then just shut up!!!
His family is hurting very much and do not need to hear the B******* you are saying…I hope u r not a parent because if you are I feel sorry for the child or children u have.