As authorities investigate the Metrolink train collision that killed Bravo “Work Out” star Greg Plitt this past weekend, the actor and fitness expert’s loved ones are trying to come to terms with his death.
Plitt’s girlfriend, Christina Stejskal, was not with him at the time of the accident on Jan. 17 in Burbank, California. But she says the two were planning a future together, and she wants his fans to know that he was a thoughtful man with “the biggest heart.”
“He was one of the most hardworking people I have ever met,” Stejskal told TheWrap. “He was always trying to deliver the best. This tragedy came from the best intentions,” Stejskal said as she explained that Plitt wanted to share his fitness videos to inspire others.
“Everyone has these amazing stories about how he touched their lives in some way, he was so thoughtful … he was a big strong man. Everyone referred to him as Superman, but he just had a heart of gold,” she recalled fondly. “I just want people to know the real him.”
Police have said Plitt, 37, was running on the train tracks while two crew members filmed him for a sports drink video.
“As the train approaches, the train conductor sounded its horn. But Mr. Plitt continued to run … and was struck by the train,” Burbank Police Department officer Joshua Kendrick told TheWrap Wednesday. However, the crewmembers have insisted that they didn’t know Plitt would be running on the tracks, according to Kendrick.
While Stejskal was with the sports guru that morning before he left for the train station, she has also said she didn’t know they were planning to shoot on the tracks. “There were some ideas tossed around about what they wanted to shoot that day, I think it was all very spur of the moment,” she said, adding, “I wish it hadn’t ended the way it did.”
Plitt and Stejskal had been together for around 18 months after meeting through their mothers, who were friends.
When asked if the former professional skydiver had a daredevil side, Stejskal replied, “He went to West Point and was an Army Ranger, so it’s safe to say that. But you never thought anything would happen, he was like super human.”
The actor and former Calvin Klein model had filmed other fitness videos along the same stretch of the Metrolink line where he died, performing various feats of strength on the tracks. “So it wasn’t unfamiliar territory,” explained Stejskal, who stressed: “I wasn’t there, I wish I was — I wish I could have said ‘no, don’t do that.’”
Anita Bennett contributed to this report.