A woman was killed after being hit by a train in Fresno on Tuesday night, with police rushing to the scene of a stopped train near downtown around 8:30 p.m. Despite efforts to save her, she died where she was found. The death marks the second fatal train incident reported in the Fresno area within days.
Fresno police officers responded to a stopped train in the area of G Street and Tuolumne Street at around 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, according to KMPH Fox 26. Officers arriving on scene found a woman suffering from major injuries. Despite life-saving measures, the station reports, she was pronounced dead at the scene.
The station's report describes the case as an ongoing investigation, with no further details released about what led to the woman being struck or her identity.
A Second Deadly Train Incident in Days
The Tuesday night death comes just days after another person was killed by a train in Fresno. Fresno police said that earlier incident was reported at 10:28 a.m. near San Pablo and Cambridge avenues, according to GV Wire, involving a pedestrian struck by an Amtrak train.
YourCentralValley.com identified the victim as 63-year-old Fresno resident Elias Ortega, struck by an Amtrak Gold Runner train near Fresno City College at San Pablo Avenue and Cambridge Avenue, per YourCentralValley.com. GV Wire had earlier reported that the identity of the person killed had not been officially released. GV Wire also reported that while Fresno police officers responded to that scene, BNSF Railway police were handling the investigation.
Rail Safety Remains a National Concern
Nationally, trespassing along railroad rights-of-way is described as the leading cause of rail-related deaths in America, with more than 400 trespass fatalities occurring each year, according to the Federal Railroad Administration. Grade-crossing incidents are another source of rail-related deaths in the country.
No cause has been determined for Tuesday's fatal strike in Fresno, and investigators have not released information about the circumstances that led to the woman's contact with the train. The case remains under investigation.
