2009

18 September 2009 Woman Killed After Being Hit by CP Rail Train West of Regina Members of the RCMP and Regina Police Service investigate the death of a woman after she stepped out in front of a CP Rail freight train west of Regina on the 13th Avenue Extension, about half a kilometre east of Pinkie Road on Friday morning.     Regina Saskatchewan - Investigators are trying to determine what led a lone woman to step onto the railway tracks in a remote area west of the city, where she was killed Friday morning.   As of early Friday, the RCMP had not identified the deceased, who was not accompanied by anyone at the time of the collision.   A CP Rail crew, manning a westbound freight train, encountered the woman around 8:15 a.m. about three kilometres west of the city along the 13th Avenue Extension as the train neared the Pinkie Road crossing.   "The crew reports there was a female person standing (on the right-of-way) on the north side of the tracks near some parked cars.   And as the engine approached, she stepped into the middle of the rail and turned her back," RCMP Sgt. Keith Lowenberger, operations supervisor for Regina detachment said.   "She was struck by the train, dragged for a short period of time, and was killed by the collision."   Paramedics and firefighters rushed to the scene in response to an emergency call from the crew, but to no avail.   "Unfortunately, there was nothing that could be done," Lowenberger said.   Her body came to rest on the tracks, about a half a kilometre from the front end of the train.   It's believed the impact occurred further to the east.   Lowenberger said the crew members were clearly shaken. Commenting on the traumatic and tragic circumstances, he noted, "I've known situations where collisions with persons has ended a career. They just can't do it anymore."   CP spokesman Kevin Hrysak said there was no way the crew operating the train, which stretched for almost 1.5 kilometres, could have avoided hitting the woman. "The crew did everything in their power by applying the emergency brake and sounding the bells and whistles of the train, but unfortunately struck the woman", he said.   The Coroner's Office, CP police, and the RCMP are investigating.   "In instances like these, I would just like to emphasize that this is extremely hard on our train crews... Whether it is a pedestrian or a crossing accident, our crews are always the first ones on the scene unfortunately," Hrysak said.   He said the crew has been relieved of its duties and has been offered critical stress counselling.   "None of us ever like to see this type of thing. Safety is CP's top priority, whether it is employees or our surrounding community," Hrysak said. "I hate to bring up trespassing as a major concern, but... trespassing on railway property or on railway tracks is very unsafe. A train can move or come upon you at any time and railway cars can move at any time, so it is a very dangerous area, trespassing on railway property."   A similar situation near the area has become a 14-year-old unsolved mystery.   On 28 Jul 1995, a never-identified young man came out from the ditch on the south side of the CP Rail tracks at 13th Avenue and Courtney Street and positioned himself in the path of an eastbound freight train at the controlled crossing.   The man was killed instantly and lies in a grave marked "John Doe."   Described as Caucasian, blue-eyed, brown-haired, 20 to 30 years old, 5-foot-9, and weighing about 140 to 160 pounds, he carried no personal identification.   In his pocket, there was a silver brooch shaped like a rose.

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