June Nielsen had just finished fishing along the Cowlitz River with her boyfriend near Castle Rock, Washington, on Oct. 11 when the two headed back toward their car across the railroad tracks. As they crossed, they heard the horn of a southbound Amtrak train bearing down on them — and in the seconds that followed, Nielsen was clipped by the train while trying to pull her boyfriend out of its path, leaving her with six broken ribs, a collapsed lung and multiple fractures in her back and shoulder.
Nielsen said she was already off the track when she realized her boyfriend was still in the middle of it, so she reached for his hand and pulled and pushed him to safety, according to KIRO 7 News Seattle. The Amtrak train was traveling at least 70 mph at the time, according to the Cowlitz County Sheriff's Office. The impact sent Nielsen to a Vancouver hospital, where she spent about a week and a half recovering.
Convinced in the moment that she might not survive, Nielsen called her children to tell them she loved them. Her daughter, Eva Nielsen, said she began crying immediately after getting that call. Looking back, June Nielsen called her survival a miracle and said she's grateful simply to be alive and able to walk.
A Backpack That May Have Made the Difference
Eva Nielsen believes the backpack her mother was wearing may have helped shield her from more serious injuries, possibly even paralysis. The family has not placed blame on Amtrak for the collision, but Eva Nielsen said she wants to see more warning signs installed along the tracks to alert people to train traffic. She said she hopes it won't take more deaths before changes are made.
The outlet reported it had not received a response from Amtrak about the collision by the time its story aired. No independently verified statement from the railroad or details about the specific crossing, its warning devices, or whether the stretch of track qualifies as private railroad property have been made public.
Washington's Broader Rail Safety Record
Incidents like the one that injured Nielsen are not isolated. The Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission has logged other trespasser and pedestrian strikes around the state this year, including a BNSF freight train striking a trespasser in Tacoma in August 2025 and a pedestrian strike near Otis Orchards in Spokane County that July. The commission's rail crash data, though the reporting period on its own page is ambiguously labeled, shows dozens of crossing collisions and double-digit trespass fatalities tracked annually in Washington.
Federal guidance underscores how often these encounters turn deadly. The Federal Railroad Administration notes that trespassing occurrences on railroad property each year far exceed the number of fatalities, underscoring the risk that remains anywhere someone steps onto the tracks outside a marked crossing — and that doing so anywhere other than a designated pedestrian or roadway crossing is illegal. The Washington State Department of Transportation notes that grade crossings may require warning signs, pavement markings and, in some locations, crossing arms and lights, though the state commission has limited regulatory authority over railroads themselves.
Echoes of a Fatal Puyallup Rescue Attempt
Nielsen's close call recalls another Washington incident in which a bystander's attempt to help someone off the tracks ended in tragedy. KING 5 reported that a Puyallup man in a wheelchair was killed by a freight train after a bystander tried to free him, with police saying it appeared to be accidental rather than intentional. The comparison highlights just how quickly a rescue attempt near active tracks can turn dangerous, even when the intentions are entirely good.
For now, Nielsen is focused on recovery, and her daughter is focused on prevention. Eva Nielsen's push for more visible warning signs reflects a simple hope shared by many families who have faced similar scares along Washington's rail lines: that awareness, however it comes, arrives before the next near-miss becomes something worse.
