Victim from Train Accident Identified

Racine County Medical Examiner Michael Payne confirmed Friday that Thomas K. Ciborowski, 53, of Mount Pleasant was the man who was struck and killed by a train Wednesday.

Ciborowski lived in the 7800 block of Old Spring Street, and he was identified through a fingerprint match from items found in his home. 

"Mr. Ciborowski did not have a photo identification on him, but we worked with the Mount Pleasant and Racine police departments to match his fingerprints with prints left on items found in his home," Payne told Patch Friday afternoon.

Payne also confirmed that Ciborowski committed suicide even though he did not leave a note explaining his reasons for ending his life. Statements he made to family, however, led Payne to conclude this was an intentional act.

Mount Pleasant police and South Shore rescue teams were called to the tracks off of Old Spring Street around 11:45 a.m. Wednesday for a report of a pedestrian vs. train accident. 

Impact occurred about 100 feet south of Old Spring Street on the Union Pacific tracks between Stuart and Airline roads. Old Spring was closed for several hours as police and rescue worked to clear the scene.

Payne said members of Ciborowski's family came to the scene Wednesday and were able to describe a camera the man carried with him. Because it was a 35mm camera with a unique strap and a unique lens, Payne said they were able to tentatively identify the man as Ciborowski but without something more concrete, were unwilling to release his name.

"Without the fingerprint match, we felt we couldn't release any names," Payne said. "Now that we have that match, we can confirm that Mr. Ciborowski was the man struck by the train."