NDSU Mourns Loss of Fellow Bison

Friends, family, and NDSU students mourn the loss of a fellow Bison this week.

Early Sunday morning, 18-year-old Colby Anderson was struck by Amtrak’s Empire Builder and killed on impact.

According to police reports, Anderson and three other friends were crossing the train tracks near 12th Avenue in North Fargo. Investigators believe that alcohol was involved in the incident. Charges for the person who potentially provided Anderson with alcohol have not been ruled out at this point.

Anderson was a Fargo North graduate and a message was read to students at North High on Monday morning. The school had counselors available for students. In an interview with Valley News, Anderson’s former principal Andy Dahlen remembered Anderson as a great student with a good sense of humor and lots of friends.

Friends Ben Osman and Anthony Schnabel, both NDSU students, remember Anderson as a loving friend and someone who really cared about his family.

“He loved being with his dad, especially in his garage. They built a bond that was probably the strongest bond anybody could ever have between two people,” Osman said in an interview with Valley News. “He loved his family more than I’ve ever known someone to love their family,” Schnabel added.

Many more are mourning Anderson. A Facebook post read:
“I’ve known him since he was in kindergarten, and my brother was one of his best friends. Over the years, he’s been around my house a lot and I’ve gotten to know him really well and I see him as a little brother. He was sweet and really easy to talk to. He loves vehicles of all sorts and spent a lot of time working on cars with his dad. He was his dad’s whole world. Him and his dad were so similar and were best friends. He was a really great kid. Everybody loves him. I walked into the Northport Hornbacher’s yesterday and ran into more people than you could imagine crying over the loss. He meant a lot to a lot of people.”

A memorial has been established at the site of the accident.