7 March 2006
Train Death Viewed as Suicide
Kamloops - A Kamloops woman intended to kill herself when she stepped into the path of an oncoming
train, a police investigation suggested Monday.
"Early indicators are that this was a suicide," said Kamloops RCMP Cpl. Fran Bethell.
"An investigation is still ongoing to piece together why and what happened."
Police questioned several people in the hours after Lillian Susan Jenkins, 46, walked onto the tracks near Highland Road in Valleyview
on Sunday afternoon, she said.
Their stories said Jenkins stood her ground as the westbound CP Rail train applied its emergency brakes and slid for more than a
kilometre before running her over.
"It's very sad," Bethell said.
Jenkins was alive when firefighters and paramedics arrived. She was pulled from beneath the train's second engine and taken to Royal
Inland Hospital. She died later that day.
A Kamloops resident, Jenkins and her family are originally from Prince George. It took investigators some time to locate next of kin,
Bethell said.
CP spokesman Ed Greenberg said the railway is assisting police and the B.C. Coroner's service in their ongoing investigation.
The train's crew - an engineer and conductor - have been offered critical incident counselling to cope with the tragedy, he said.
"No matter what the reasons are that brought that woman onto the tracks, it is a tragic situation for her family and our
crew," Greenberg said.
"That is the last thing a person wants to go through as a seasoned railroader."
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