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The mothers of two young boys who were killed by an Amtrak train as they walked along railroad tracks in Pennsylvania have revealed an ugly new twist in the devastating case.
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they → sign → case
Jahaad Atkinson, nine, and Ah'Yir Womack, 12, had walked through a fence opening in Chester, roughly 15 miles south of Philadelphia, onto Northeast Corridor tracks on April 29, 2023, when they were struck by a southbound Acela train and killed.
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they → walk → train
The boys' respective mothers, Siani Gordon and Wydeia Kimble, filed a wrongful death lawsuit in federal court against Amtrak that July but the case was eventually dismissed.
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case → file → Amtrak
Gordon and Kimble have now sued their former lawyers, Emeka Igwe and Daniel Purtell, for legal malpractice, claiming that they botched the initial suit concerning their kids' deaths, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported Tuesday.
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Inquirer → sue → deaths
The grieving mothers alleged in the complaint filed last month in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas that evidence showed Amtrak acted 'wantonly and recklessly' but that their previous lawyers did not include that in their case in time.
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lawyers → grieve → time
'This was an avoidable result,' the malpractice suit claimed, according to the outlet.
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suit → claim → outlet
It added that the lawyers allegedly 'failed to present necessary evidence in their possession to pursue valid legal theories that would have led to a successful recovery.'
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that → add → recovery
The complaint claimed that Igwe and Purtell had evidence of Amtrak's alleged willful or wanton conduct, with the Amtrak Police report allegedly noting discussions on the radio about someone on the tracks.
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report → claim → tracks
Jahaad Atkinson (left), 9, and Ah'Yir Womack (right), 12, were killed in April 2023 when they walked through a hole in a fence onto Northeast Corridor tracks and were struck by an Amtrak train
Atkinson's mother, Siani Gordon, is part of a lawsuit against her former lawyers, alleging that they effectively botched the case concerning the boys' deaths
Wydeia Kimble, Womack's mom, is also part of the malpractice suit against her former attorneys
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Kimble → kill → attorneys
The hole in the fencing was emphasized in the moms' original lawsuit against the National Railroad Passenger Corporation.
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hole → emphasize → Corporation
Amtrak is the company's operating name.
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Amtrak → operate → ?
Igwe, their lawyer at the time, said in August 2023 that Amtrak knew the opening was a 'danger' and said that was why the company 'erected this fence in the first place.'
He accused Amtrak of building in 'poor inner–city neighborhoods' but not 'invest[ing] resources to maintain its property there' after the boys' deaths.
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He → say → deaths
The suit was dismissed in March 2024 by US District Judge Mitchell S Goldberg, who explained that the railroad company had no duty to fence its property.
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company → dismiss → property
An updated complaint filed in the US District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania from Igwe then argued that the Amtrak train operators 'should have observed' the two kids.
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operators → update → kids
Igwe also alleged that the tracks provided 'unrestricted visibility for a sufficient period of time' for the train conductor to 'take evasive action.'
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conductor → allege → action
The case was shifted to Purtell and his legal firm, McEldrew Purtell, in early April 2025 after Igwe was deployed to Kuwait with the Delaware National Guard because of obligations as a military attorney.
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Igwe → shift → attorney
Emeka Igwe, the mothers' first attorney, told the Daily Mail on Tuesday that he disagreed with the notion that he had not represented his previous clients 'competently and diligently'
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he → tell → clients
The mothers for Atkinson (left) and Womack (right), the two boys, said evidence showed Amtrak had acted 'wantonly and recklessly'
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Amtrak → say → Atkinson
US District Judge Mary K. Costello previously ruled that the Amtrak conductor 'began sounding the horn approximately sixteen seconds' before the accident
A filing from April 10, 2025, noted that attorneys from McEldrew Purtell alleged that Igwe was at fault for the problems in the case.
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Igwe → rule → case
They claimed Igwe showed a 'lack of diligence' in the case and had failed to take any depositions of Amtrak or serve written discovery.
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Igwe → claim → discovery
The legal document also included allegations about Igwe's 'general malaise' and how 'the parties sat around for a year and did nothing.
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parties → include → nothing
'
The moms' malpractice suit claimed that Igwe and Purtell turned down an offer from Amtrak to mediate the issue but had not told them about this, the Inquirer reported.
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Inquirer → claim → this
US District Judge Mary K Costello was also told 'on this record, no,' by a McEldrew Purtell attorney during a hearing last May when she asked if there had been 'willful and wanton conduct,' per the outlet.
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she → tell → outlet
Judge Costello then reportedly said: 'I think that kind of seals it up.'
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that → say → it
While ruling in Amtrak's favor last July, the judge noted that the mothers had 'conceded during argument, there is no evidence of wanton or willful misconduct in this case.'
The filing added that the engineer 'began sounding the horn approximately sixteen seconds prior to the accident, before the decedents were visible.
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decedents → rule → accident
Amtrak also did not have a legally recognized duty to erect or maintain the fencing under Pennsylvania law, the judge said.
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judge → have → law
Daniel Purtell, the mothers' other former attorney, said he was 'unable to substantively comment outside of the fact that we continue to support our former clients' best interests'
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we → say → interests
Under Pennsylvania law, Amtrak was found to not have a legal responsibility to erect or maintain the fencing.
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Amtrak → find → fencing
The crash's aftermath is pictured with passengers boarding a new train
Igwe told the Daily Mail on Tuesday morning that he 'disagree[d] in the strongest terms possible that I did not represent my clients competently and diligently.'
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I → picture → clients
He said he had been overseas, from March to July of last year when Costello dismissed the case.
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Costello → say → case
'Before I was deployed, I reached out to Amtrak to request a mediation, which they were willing to do,' Igwe said.
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Igwe → deploy → which
'It is my understanding that the firm I referred the case to declined the opportunity to mediate the case with Amtrak.'
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I → refer → Amtrak
He told the Daily Mail that Judge Costello 'made it clear in her ruling that this case failed as a matter of Pennsylvania substantive law, not because of any act or omission by me.'
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case → tell → me
Igwe added that he looked forward to defending the malpractice suit in court.
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he → add → court
Purtell said that the case was 'in active litigation' and was 'unable to substantively comment outside of the fact that we continue to support our former clients' best interests,' per a statement reported by the Inquirer.
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we → say → Inquirer
Aaron Freiwald, the mothers’ current attorney, told the Daily Mail on Tuesday morning that he had no comment to add about the complaint.
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he → tell → complaint
The Daily Mail has reached out to Purtell's firm for further comment.
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Mail → reach → comment
The Aporia
