Child’s fall onto Petaluma SMART tracks fuels safety concerns

A 5-year-old fell onto the tracks at the Petaluma SMART station. The rail agency says it’s in compliance with federal safety standards.|

Melissa Strange was disembarking from her inaugural SMART train ride last weekend when her family outing quickly took a harrowing turn, leaving the mother of three helpless while her screaming 5-year-old daughter was trapped under the stationary train.

The Jan. 6 trip to San Rafael for lunch had been a pleasant one, until Josie Strange slipped through the narrow gap between the train car and the platform around 5:40 p.m., dropping four feet to the tracks below. The incident was a shock to Strange, who had stayed behind to gather her family’s belongings while her husband and children, ages 11, 6 and 5, exited the train.

“I was doing the mom thing and collecting stuff, making sure we didn’t leave anything behind,” said Strange, a Petaluma pediatrician. “I hadn’t exited the train, but I heard people screaming and pounding on the outside of the train and I heard someone say ‘there’s someone under the train’ and I heard her scream … I pushed everyone out of the way and got outside.”

The next few moments were excruciating, Strange said.

“It was just a blur, everything was in such slow motion, but I knew it was her down there,” Strange said. “I couldn’t get to her - no one could get to her.”

Strange said a conductor jumped into action, scrambling under the train car to retrieve her daughter, who was shaken but walked away with only minor cuts and bruises.

“It’s hard to put it into words, but I was insanely thankful,” she said. “I can’t believe it even happened, but I was so happy to be holding her and know that she was OK.”

It’s unclear exactly how Josie slipped under the train, Strange said, but she’s advocating for a fix that would prevent another such accident from occurring. She’s taken issue with what she described as a flaw in the initial reporting process and a delay in follow up calls from SMART officials until Monday.

Strange said the conductor didn’t ask for her name or contact information, and she felt the response from SMART officials was delayed and insufficient. She asked that the train service be suspended until fixes were in place.

SMART spokeswoman Jeanne Mariani-Belding said the design of the rail line complies with all federal regulations, and the agency is already in the process of installing a number of safety measures, including bright red striping behind the existing yellow tactile strip to remind riders to keep a safe distance from the gap.

Staff will also make in-car announcements reminding riders to mind the gap and remain vigilant, and the agency will utilize its social media to spread the message.

“First and foremost, we’re thankful that the child is fine,” Belding said. “After the incident, the chief of police and general manager reached out the mother to make sure the girl was OK. Immediately after the incident, we contacted the operations and engineering team and had them initiate something we can do quickly.”

The incident marks the first of its kind for the rail agency, which has carried more than 270,000 people since its August launch, Belding said.

Video footage from the station was reviewed as part of the investigation, but was not being released publicly as of last week, Belding said. An emergency lever to alert the conductor and stop the train was activated as soon as Josie fell and paramedics were called to the scene, Belding said.

Because of the design of the station, it’s not feasible to install railings or other such infrastructure, she said. However, the rail agency will keep an eye on the situation and implement further changes as necessary.

“We’re confident it’s a very good solid start,” she said. “We’re going to continue to look at other ways we can encourage people to be alert and aware.”

Strange said she had higher hopes for a more proactive approach, but plans to continue to share her story in hopes of promoting safety. She has no plans to seek legal remedies, she said.

“None of these measures would have prevented my daughter from falling under the train,” she wrote in an email. “However, they are all good reminders to hold hands and be careful, and that I appreciate.”

David Rabbitt, a Sonoma County Supervisor who serves on SMART’s Board of Directors, said he’s talked to officials about improving the immediate communication, and said the issue will be taken up at an upcoming board of directors meeting.

“We’re totally grateful the little one is OK - I feel the train crew did everything right,” he said. “We didn’t get back to the parents as quickly as we should have, but we’ll debrief about what we can improve in the future. I don’t know if you can say it will never happen again, but we can make it less likely to happen,” he said.

(Contact Hannah Beausang at hannah.beausang@arguscourier.com.)

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