LAWTON, MI (WTVB) – Family and friends gathered Wednesday night on the railroad tracks near Lawton where a Bronson High School senior was killed one year ago when his pick-up truck was struck by an Amtrak train.
17-year-old Tyler Wirtz was driving his F-150 pickup truck when it apparently got stuck on the tracks.
Wirtz was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.
Wirtz was a member of the Bronson High School bowling team which dedicated their state championship last spring to his memory.
Bronson School Superintendent Rick Hilderley said at the time that Wirtz’s death was devastating.
The community came together in the days following the tragedy. In just one day, a Go Fund Me page raised over $6,000 to help pay for Wirtz’s funeral.
Wirtz’s stepfather passed away earlier in the year after a battle with cancer, and his mother Sarah Howard was in the process of moving to a new house when the accident happened. A community effort was organized to help her with the move.
