Mother, adult son killed by commuter train in Oregon

[August 19, 2014]  PORTLAND Ore. (Reuters) - A commuter train killed a mother and her adult son in Oregon after the man leapt into the woman's motorized wheelchair and apparently hit the controls, propelling them both onto the tracks, officials said on Monday.

Local media said John Paul Kelly, 48, had mental challenges and sometimes jumped into his mother's lap. The medical examiner said Bertha Kelly, 66, died instantly in Saturday's accident at a MAX light rail stop near city hall in Gresham.

Her son died later in hospital.

TriMet, the regional transit authority, said he apparently hit the controls on the chair, which then dropped between two carriages as the train was leaving the station. Its driver did not see them fall, it said in a statement.

(Reporting by Lee van der Voo; Editing by Daniel Wallis and Eric Walsh)

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