SMART train death called a suicide

The Santa Rosa woman, struck and killed early Wednesday, was standing on the railroad tracks when she was hit and had been warned of the trains approach by its horns, police say.|

A woman struck and killed early Wednesday by a SMART train in south Santa Rosa was standing on the railroad tracks when she was hit and had been warned of the train’s approach by its blaring horns, Santa Rosa police said Wednesday afternoon. Police have called the death a suicide.

Authorities identified the woman as Marion Harrison, 64, of Santa Rosa.

The death marks the first reported fatality in connection with operation of the commuter train, which launched service in August.

One witness said it appeared the woman knew the train was approaching and made no effort to get out of the way, even as the train’s horn blasted.

“She didn’t move,” said Ron Kiger, an employee at nearby Mead Clark Lumber. Kiger said he watched, stunned, wondering “is she going to move?”

The southbound train did not have time to stop before striking Harrison, police said.

Kiger said he ran to see if he could help, checking her pulse.

“There was no help to be made. I’ve never seen a body so twisted,” he said.

The first report of the collision came from SMART train dispatchers who contacted emergency dispatchers at 7:36 a.m. to report a collision between the train and a pedestrian at Hearn Avenue.

Officers found the woman about 100 feet south of Hearn Avenue, on the west side of the tracks. She was unresponsive and appeared to have died instantly, police said. No foul play was suspected and an autopsy was pending.

About 40 to 50 passengers were on the train at the time of the incident, said SMART Police Chief Jennifer Welch.

One passenger said the train had stopped and riders weren’t aware of what happened.

“One of the conductors said they’d hit something and they’ve come on the intercom about three times to say they’d had an incident at the road crossing, said the man, who declined to give his name. “They said to stay calm, stay in your seat and they would keep us posted.

“People initially were wondering what was going on, trying to crane out the windows and look,” he said, or lean out the open train doors for a clue of what had happened.

Police said no one on the train was injured.

At 8 a.m. Santa Rosa police issued a public alert for drivers to avoid Hearn Avenue at the railroads tracks. The road was closed a block in each direction from the tracks, and long lines of yellow police tape roped off the area.

Santa Rosa Police Sgt. Summer Black said officers spoke with the engineer driving the train, the conductor and 20 onboard passengers who witnessed the incident. The death was also captured on video.

The woman was facing the train when she was struck, Black said, the video clearly showing it was a suicide.

Welch called the death a tragedy.

“We see this happening at other agencies,” she said. “We’re not immune to having this happen to SMART.

“We were confident in our response. We had the right protocols and producers in place for handling this incident.”

All train crossing controls appeared to be functioning properly at the time of the collision, based on witness accounts, police said.

Farhad Mansourian, SMART general manager, would not comment on the incident and directed all questions to Welch.

Deb Fudge, chairwoman of SMART’s board of directors, declined to comment on the crash, citing the investigation. She referred questions to the agency’s public information officer, Jeanne Belding. Belding referred questions to Santa Rosa police.

The passengers and train remained at the scene more than two hours afterward. Welch said service remained open to the north and south, with buses used to bridge the gap.

According the male passenger on the train, several Santa Rosa police officers boarded the train after 8 a.m. and interviewed each person, taking photographs of everyone’s photo identification and asking what they’d been aware of or what they’d seen.

The passenger said he wasn’t told anyone had been killed but passengers found a news report online about the fatal crash.

Several passengers gathered in the café car to talk about the news. After about two hours they were put onto a bus north to Santa Rosa and from there another bus south.

The train involved in the collision was inspected and did not return to its normal route. The tracks at the scene were also inspected, police said.

While police and train officials were at the scene, area residents and workers came out to see what was happening.

Kiger, working on a forklift at the lumberyard, said that morning he did what he usually does just before the 7:33 a.m. train passes by the business. He took his coffee and went onto the sidewalk to see it speed through the intersection and watch “what nut will try to beat the train” by driving through ahead of it.

But he hadn’t expected what unfolded. Kiger said the approaching train’s warning system was activated and the arms were down to block drivers. But a woman was standing on the side of the tracks.

“She knew it was coming,” he said.

The engineer had seen her, setting of the train’s warning horn. He didn’t have time to brake, police said. She landed more than 50 feet away from the impact.

The speed limit on the section of track around Hearn Avenue is 79 mph, but Santa Rosa police are still investigating the exact speed the train was traveling at the time of the incident, Black said.

Some of her clothing was knocked off, leaving her in what appeared to be thermal underwear, said Kiger, who admitted he was shaken by the event.

Others said they’d seen the woman standing near the tracks. Cassandra Crawford was on her way to teach at Stony Point Academy and drove through the intersection about three minutes before the collision. She said a woman standing about 20 feet west of the tracks caught her attention because she looked confused.

Crawford compared notes with two other teachers at the school who ride in together. They told her they’d crossed the tracks about 15 minutes earlier and noticed the same woman, telling Crawford she’d been standing in the same place, and had looked “confused and almost lost,” Crawford said.

Some students were late to school because of the closed route.

Harrison lived less than a mile away from where she was killed. Neighbors said she lived in an attached garage with her husband in the 1400 block of Gloria Drive. No one answered the door of the residence Wednesday evening.

Nancy Sheehan, state coordinator California Operation Lifesaver, a rail safety organization, said Wednesday trespassing along railroad tracks is the No. 1 reason for fatal train and pedestrian cases.

There were 101 deaths in California in 2016 involving people hit by trains and all involved trespassing – none involved suicide, said Sheehan, who helps run the agency’s campaign to stop deaths along railroad tracks.

California ranks first in the nation for deaths of people on the tracks “where they don’t belong. It’s illegal. They can be cited and fined for being on the tracks. They’re taking their lives into their hands,” she said.

The state also has the most deaths in the nation when statistics include people hit in train crossings, she said. “These are all preventable if people are obeying laws. (By law) trains always have the right of way.”

Suicides involving trains are less common.

“Sadly, that’s a statistic we can’t seem to escape. It happens,” she said. “This type of incident underscores for us our ongoing need for our mission to try and prevent these types of incident.”

Anyone who witnessed the collision was urged to contact Santa Rosa Police Officer Jeff Woods, 707-543-3636.

Staff Writer Nick Rahaim contributed to this report.

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