{"id":1928,"date":"2026-10-19T10:03:51","date_gmt":"2026-10-19T14:03:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inhishands\/?p=1928"},"modified":"2026-10-19T10:03:51","modified_gmt":"2026-10-19T14:03:51","slug":"wheaton-college-freshman-18-killed-by-train-shortly-after-attending-church","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/inhishands\/2026\/10\/wheaton-college-freshman-18-killed-by-train-shortly-after-attending-church\/","title":{"rendered":"Wheaton College Freshman, 18, Killed by Train Shortly After Attending Church"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Left: Benny Offer \/ Facebook | Right: Bruce Leighty \/ stock.adobe.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A Wheaton College freshman died after being struck by a freight train in Illinois shortly after attending Sunday Mass, leaving his family, teammates and Christian community mourning a young man remembered for his deep faith and love for others.<\/p>\n

Tomassino \u201cTommy\u201d Offer, 18, of Washington Township, Michigan, died Sunday after he was hit by an eastbound Union Pacific freight train near Main Street in Wheaton at approximately 10:30 a.m.<\/p>\n

According to ABC Chicago<\/a>, Offer had just left St. Michael Catholic Church with a friend when the accident occurred. A Metra spokesperson said the teenager attempted to cross the railroad tracks after one train passed, apparently unaware that another train was approaching from the opposite direction.<\/p>\n

The Rev. Santos Castillo of St. Michael Catholic Church said he had spoken with Offer just moments before the tragedy. He added that the freshman regularly attended Sunday Mass at the parish.<\/p>\n

\u201cI 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\u2019d be in church,\u201d Castillo told ABC Chicago.<\/p>\n

Offer was a member of Wheaton College\u2019s Thunder baseball team and had only recently begun his freshman year at the Christian university.<\/p>\n

In a statement<\/a>, head baseball coach Matt Husted described Offer as a young man whose faith and character left a lasting impression on those around him.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur team is grieving, and our hearts are heavy as we grieve alongside Tommy\u2019s family and friends,\u201d Husted said. \u201cThis 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

Husted also remembered Offer as joyful, competitive and genuinely interested in others.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was really interested in other people and showed them that they were important to him,\u201d the coach said.<\/p>\n

An obituary<\/a> described Offer as a gifted athlete who earned first-team All-State honors in soccer and was named Goalkeeper of the Year at Notre Dame Preparatory School in Michigan. Still, those who knew him said his Christian faith was an even greater part of his identity.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe played baseball with a fearless confidence \u2014 a mindset he attributed to prayer and his faith in God,\u201d the obituary stated.<\/p>\n

Just weeks before his death, Offer\u2019s father, Benny Offer, shared an emotional Facebook post<\/a> after helping his son move into Wheaton College on August 17.<\/p>\n

Reflecting on his son\u2019s future, he wrote that he and his wife had always understood their role as parents through the lens of faith.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are his parents, but in truth we have always known that we have been the stewards of Tomassino these last 18 years,\u201d he wrote, adding that their son had \u201calways belonged to his Heavenly Father first.\u201d<\/p>\n

Following the tragedy, Wheaton College held a memorial Sunday evening. Students and community members then gathered for a memorial Mass at St. Michael Catholic Church on Monday.<\/p>\n

Andre J. Guest, head of Notre Dame Preparatory School, remembered Offer<\/a> as an extraordinary student-athlete with a promising future and a kind heart.<\/p>\n

\u201cHis loss leaves an immeasurable void in our community,\u201d Guest said, offering prayers for the family as they grieve.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A Wheaton College freshman died after being struck by a freight train in Illinois shortly after attending Sunday Mass, leaving his family, teammates and Christian community mourning a young man remembered for his deep faith and love for others. Tomassino \u201cTommy\u201d Offer, 18, of Washington Township, Michigan, died Sunday after he was hit by an…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":516,"featured_media":1931,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fbia_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1928","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nWheaton College Freshman, 18, Killed by Train Shortly After Attending Church<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Wheaton College mourns freshman Tommy Offer, a devoted Christian and baseball player, as family and friends remember his faith and legacy.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" 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