Retired Brandeis Professor, 74, Killed by Train
West Newton resident James Callahan Jr., died last week after falling off a train platform.
A retired Brandeis University professor died last Tuesday at a local commuter rail station after falling off the platform as a morning train was approaching. James J. Callahan Jr., 74, of West Newton, fell off the platform and was caught under a commuter rail train traveling inbound into the West Newton station, according to MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo. The incident is still under investigation, MBTA Transit Police Lt. Detective Mark Gillespie said Monday. He added that the Transit Police are still awaiting the official cause of death from the state medical examiner's office. In an email sent last week, Callahan's great-nephew Bill Callahan told Patch his great-uncle was a "distinguished" professor of social policy at Brandeis as well as …
