Grieving Hamilton mom Aggie Juszkiewicz is angry because her youngest son should've known better.

Her son, Michael, 33, had trespassed onto the train tracks and was listening to his iPod when he was killed Thursday night by a 13-car freight train.

"Am I angry? Yeah, I'm angry with Michael," Juszkiewicz said. "He's a smart kid. He's a very smart kid. He knows better. If he hadn't had that iPod on, he could've got out of the way."

Police said Michael had trespassed on to the CN Rail tracks near Lawrence and Ipswich Rds. in Steeltown after drinking at a friend's house. According to cops, Michael was lying down on the railroad tracks when he was hit at 11 p.m.

Cops were trying to find out if he had passed out from drinking, or if he lay down intentionally.

Either way, Juszkiewicz didn't move when the train approached, said Hamilton Police Det.-Const. Jeff Majik, adding the conductor desperately tried to stop the locomotive but didn't have enough distance.

"He saw him on the tracks, put on the brakes, and the train couldn't stop in time," Majik said.

Michael's mom said her son was "very easy-going" and that his interests included golf, snowboarding, and video games.

He was single, lived at home, and worked at a recycling plant.

Michael's older brother Adam, 36, was taking the news particularly bad, his mom said.

"We're holding our own, that's about all we can do," Juszkiewicz said, adding that although she's devastated by the loss, she couldn't help but feel frustration over her son's apparent obliviousness to the dangers of taking shortcuts along railway lines.

"I think the police officer that spoke this morning on the news saying to stay away from railroad tracks -- (that) is a very good piece of advice. Unfortunately, my son doesn't always listen," Juszkiewicz said.

Toxicology tests will be done to indicate how much Juszkiewicz had been drinking, but still, they won't prove if he actually passed out on the tracks, Majik said.

HAD BEEN DRINKING

"We know that he was consuming alcohol and he was walking home, and we're trying to determine if he fell on the tracks or just laid down on the tracks," Majik said.

Majik also said police didn't know exactly where Juszkiewicz entered the tracks, but that signs warning against trespassing are posted along the entrances from the streets.

Police wanted to get the message out to the public that railway lines are private property and that anyone who uses them for shortcuts, hiking, or loitering, could be charged with trespassing.

A funeral service for Juszkiewicz will take place tomorrow from 11 a.m. until 1 p.m. at the Truscott Brown and Dwyer Funeral Home at 1309 King St. E. in Hamilton. Cremation has already taken place.