(Riverside, California – October 8, 2011)
A yet-to-be-identified mother died Saturday about 6:45 P.M. at the crossing of Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railroad tracks and Mary Street in Riverside, CA, as she saved her 2-year-old toddler from certain death when her stroller’s wheels stuck in a flange way, and she was hit by a Metrolink commuter train.
The woman had begun crossing the rails after lights, gates and bells governing vehicular traffic were activated, but she was on the sidewalk, which is not gated or signalized. Witnesses saw her free the stroller carrying her child, and shove it to safety as the train, traveling from Oceanside, CA to San Bernardino, CA, bore down upon her, killing her instantly.
Bystanders rescued the little girl as her stroller rolled safely down the sidewalk and away from the crossing, and she was taken – uninjured—to Riverside Community Hospital where she was released to her grandmother. The mother