Students

Miami University Student Found Dead on Tracks in Oxford Identified as 19-Year-Old Jacob S. Jarman

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A Miami University student found dead on railroad tracks in Oxford Saturday morning was identified as 19-year-old Jacob S. Jarman by the Butler County coroner.

According to the Oxford Police Department, Jarman from Greenwood Village, Co., a suburb of Denver, was a sophomore journalism major who lived in Hahne Residence Hall. He transferred to Miami after attending a college in Colorado his freshman year.

 "We mourn the tragic death of a Miami student this weekend. Our hearts go out to the family in their grief," President David Hodge said via Twitter

Police found the body on tracks east of the intersection of South College Avenue and Foxfire Drive.

The coroner's report listed multiple traumatic injuries as the primary cause of Jarman's death. Miami University Police, Oxford Police and the coroner's office have initiated an investigation. They are now awaiting Jarman's toxicology report to determine the actual cause of death.

"During the investigation, they're going to try to determine if it was deliberate or an accident," Sgt. Jon Varley told Miami Student. "To do that, we'll check phone messages, talk to friends and go back as far as we can to see if there are any issues with relationships, etcetera ... they'll check all that and see if there were any known issues."

"If it can be determined that [underage intoxication] was a direct causation or direct factor, then yes, it will probably be acted on," Varley said. "And if there was clearly somebody responsible, they could also end up being charged."

Varley said that in the last eight years, five individuals died after being hit by a train in or just outside Oxford. Four of those individuals including Jarman were Miami students.

He added that the train tracks in Oxford are the private property of CSX Transportation. As the tracks are spread across several distances, it is difficult to monitor trespassing.

John Theodore, CSX Railroad System Production team mechanic, who has worked for CSX for 12 years, said that people do not often sense the danger of moving trains.

"Train safety is extremely important," Theodore said. "People get complacent around trains ... The rate of their speed is misleading."

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