'Hero' Fatal Train Victim Remembered In Bucks Co.

LOWER BUCKS COUNTY, PA —He should be remembered as a hero.

That's how Nicholas Emeigh said Christopher Cramp of Bristol, his friend and colleague, should be remembered for his heroic efforts of trying to save his son before he was killed by a high-speed train on Thursday —and for his work helping Bucks County's homeless.

"His son was trying to take his own life. He was trying to pull him back," Emeigh told Patch on Monday about the incident at the Bristol Station in which Cramp and his two sons perished after being struck and killed while on the tracks of the Bristol Station on the Warminster Line late in Bristol Borough Thursday afternoon. "Chris would have done that for anybody."

Cramp, 56, of Bristol Borough, and his 31-year-old son David Cramp died trying to save 24-year-old Thomas Cramp, who took his own life, authorities said.

Emeigh is the associate executive director for NAMI (National Alliance on Mental Illness) in Bucks County, which has its office in Warrington.

That's where he worked with Cramp while he served as a certified peer specialist who worked with Penndel Mental Health doing homeless outreach before later taking a job with Bucks County's Human Services Department.

"He should be remembered as a hero for what he did for the whole county," Emeigh said. "There is no one else to replace him. He leaves a huge gap. It was the way he did it. He genuinely cared."

Emeigh said that Cramp helped hundreds of people in Bucks County, helping the homeless with getting shelter, treatment, counseling, food, and other much-needed services.

Emeigh said Cramp would often head out in a snowstorm or icy weather and round up homeless people who needed shelter, food, clothing, and medical care.

"He didn't think twice about it," Emeigh said of Cramp.

The two became close, working together weekly and talking often.

"He was a good friend," Emeigh said. "He worked harder than 99 percent of people. He had an amazing work ethic and truly cared about people."

Emeigh still can't shake what happened Thursday.

"You never expect something like this to happen," he said. "I can't believe this is even real."