Longtime conservative talk radio host Michael “Doc” Thompson was killed after getting hit by a train, TheWrap has learned.
Michael “Doc” Thompson, 49, was killed Tuesday afternoon, after jogging near the railroad track when he was hit by a passing Amtrak train in Halton City, Texas, the Dallas Morning News reported.
The Tarrant County medical examiner’s office told TheWrap it had made the identification and notified his family.
A pair of wireless earbuds was found at the scene, but it was not clear if Thompson had been wearing them, according to the Dallas Morning News.
No one on the train was injured.
Amtrak told TheWrap in a statement: “These incidents are tragic for everyone: the friends and family of the person who was on the tracks — and our train crews and their families, too. There is no safe way to walk on or near train tracks, which is actually trespassing on railroad property.”
MoJo 5.0 mourns the loss of a great friend and mentor, Michael "Doc" Thompson. Rest in peace, brother.#DocThompson #MoJo50Radio #WhatILearnedToday pic.twitter.com/NezsoF2MvR
— The Daily Mojo (@RealDailyMojo) February 6, 2019
Thompson’s fans have been calling into Doc Thompson’s “Daily MoJo” to share memories of him with co-hosts Ron Phillips and Brad Staggs, the paper reported.
“The MoJo 5.0 Radio family wishes to express our sincere gratitude for the outpouring of love for our dear friend, Doc Thompson,” the show tweeted Wednesday.
“I wish this was some sick joke, I wish it wasn’t true,” co-host Brad Staggs said chocking back tears on Wednesday’s show.
Thompson began co-hosting the show in 2018 after leaving Glenn Beck’s TheBlaze radio.
“Doc was one of those one-in-a million talents, who was the same on the air as off the air,” Blaze Media host Glenn Beck told TheBlaze. “But what made him truly unique was that he truly tried to serve his audience, those who were less fortunate and struggling, as well as the small entrepreneurs who were clients of his show. He truly was excited at other people’s success.”
“He was the ultimate entrepreneur,” Beck said during his show Wednesday morning. “He left us to start his own business. He loved new businesses and because of Doc, many businesses are flourishing because he would take them under his wings.”
The site described Thompson’s broadcast style as “a mix of reporting, commentary, humor and a lot of candor. He was driven to expose the truth.”
The Blaze also said Thompson was an “avid runner and a self-proclaimed ‘pizza snob’ with a “big personality.”
A GoFundMe page set up by Thompson’s MoJo 5.0 colleagues had raised more than $67,000 as of this writing, surpassing a $20,000 goal to raise funds for family expenses.