(The following story by Selicia Kennedy-Ross and Jason Pesick appeared on the San Bernardino County Sun website on June 4.)
RIALTO, Calif. — A young woman was killed Sunday afternoon in a Union Pacific railyard in Rialto when she jumped from a slow-moving freight train into the path of an oncoming Amtrak train.
She was part of a group of a half-dozen transients stowed away on a freight train that was traveling from Bakersfield, investigators said.
About 12:30 p.m., the group began jumping from the moving train near Riverside Avenue between Slover Avenue and Interstate 10.
James Barnes, spokesman for Union Pacific, was quick to say the group was trespassing on the freight train illegally.
“When they jumped off, one (person) was struck by an oncoming Amtrak train,” Barnes said. “This is a very, very tragic incident.”
Amtrak spokesman Marc Magliari said a trespasser on Union Pacific Railroad property was struck when she ended up in the path of an Amtrak train called the Sunset Limited.
Fire officials and Magliari confirmed the victim, whose name was not released, died either on scene or en route to the hospital.
“These kinds of incidents are always avoidable if people don’t trespass on railroad property,” he said.
Fire officials said the group was likely to have been on the freight train about seven or eight hours.
Rialto fire Capt. Art Poduska described the woman, who was with a group of four men and two females, as being in her late teens or early 20s.
The group was getting ready to jump off in the rail yard, Poduska said. When the girl jumped off, an Amtrak was already oncoming.
Train officials did not know if any others were injured but fire officials said at least one other female was taken to a nearby hospital, possibly for treatment of dehydration.
No one else on board either train was injured.
The Amtrak passenger train, which travels between New Orleans and Los Angeles, was delayed less than two hours.
Rialto police referred all comments to Union Pacific officials and did not release the name of the victim or the others in the group.
Union Pacific police are investigating the incident, Barnes said. At least some of the other transients were arrested for trespassing, he said.
“Our hearts go out to the family of this person,” Barnes said. “We try to reinforce the message to young people that trespassing near trains and riding trains illegally is very dangerous and very risky.
“It’s tragic not only for that person and their family but even for our own train crews.”