Wheaton College student fatally struck by train shortly after leaving church

Weeks before 18-year-old Wheaton College freshman Tomassino Offer was fatally struck by a freight train in Illinois on Sunday shortly after attending church, his father said he always knew his son “belonged to his Heavenly Father first.”

“Our faith in Jesus tells us that this is where God wants him to be. It was God that opened the door to Wheaton, and God alone who shut the doors of other opportunities,” Benny Offer, a real estate agent and motivational speaker, wrote about his son on Facebook after moving him into his dorm room at Wheaton College on Aug. 17.

“We are his parents, but in truth we have always known that we have been the stewards of Tomassino these last 18yrs … that’s hard to accept sometimes … but we know deep down he has always belonged to his Heavenly Father first,” he said.

The freshman, also known as Tommy, who was from Washington Township, Michigan, was killed by an eastbound Union Pacific freight train at about 10:30 a.m. Sunday, after leaving church with a friend, according to ABC Chicago. A Metra spokesperson told the news outlet that the teenager attempted to cross the tracks near Main St. after one train passed and didn’t see the train that hit him coming from the opposite direction.

The Rev. Santos Castillo of St. Michael Catholic Church told ABC Chicago that he spoke with the late Wheaton freshman just before he left church on Sunday with his friend, and he understood they were heading to Chicago. Castillo added that Offer was Catholic and attended Mass at the parish every Sunday.

"I definitely saw him before he left, and he just waved at me, and together with his friend Joe, they were here together, and who would have known that was the last time he'd be in church," Castillo said.

Wheaton College held a memorial Sunday night, and students and community members gathered for a memorial Mass at St. Michael on Monday, ABC Chicago reported. In a statement, the university remembered Offer as a faithful Christian and noted that he was a member of the college’s Thunder baseball team.

"Our team is grieving and our hearts are heavy as we grieve alongside Tommy's family and friends. This is a difficult time for us all; however, we have peace in knowing he was strong in his faith and that Christ is with him and those close to him,” Wheaton head baseball coach Matt Husted said.

"Tommy was sincere in all aspects of his life. He was joyful, but a competitor — all qualities that made him a great teammate,” he added. "He was really interested in other people and showed them that they were important to him." 

An obituary published about the teenager also affirmed him as a faithful and outgoing personality who was a talented and passionate athlete.

“To know Tomassino was to know an exceptional young man of many gifts and talents, and a teen who truly loved God. He was a passionate athlete who not only achieved significant honors such as 1st team All-State in soccer, and Goalkeeper of the Year at Notre Dame Prep, but who boldly stood for Christ on the diamond as well,” the obituary said.

“He played baseball with a fearless confidence — a mindset he attributed to prayer and his faith in God. He was a young man who loved people and made it his goal to befriend his fellow classmates. He desired to lead by example by endeavoring to live and love like Jesus did.”

Andre J. Guest, head of school for Notre Dame Preparatory School, where Offer graduated this year, remembered him as an extraordinary student-athlete who had a “bright future.”

"Tomassino had a bright future filled with promise, and he possessed a kind heart that touched those around him. He embodied our mission to form Christian persons, upright citizens, and academic scholars and was a wonderful example of what it means to be a good Christian person, and his loss leaves an immeasurable void in our community,” Guest said.

"We mourn his passing, hold his family close in our hearts, and pray that they find comfort and strength in the love and support of the NDP community."