Mother of Two Killed by Unknown Train Near a Recreational Trail
(Pleasant Hill, Missouri – January 9, 2014)
A 42-year-old mother of two young girls, ages 11 and 6, was found dead near the Katy Trail recreational parkway, which parallels Union Pacific Railroad tracks through Pleasant Hill, MO at about 9:00 A.M. Thursday morning by Union Pacific Railroad employees. Cass County, MO Sheriff’s Dept. deputies indicated that, although she was not hit and killed by the northbound train whose crew reported sighting her body, her injuries were obviously caused by being hit by a train sometime within the previous 24 hours.
The victim, Mindi L. Smith, a resident of Lee’s Summit, MO, and a graduate of the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC), was employed as a counsellor at Midwest Behavioral Healthcare Management-Pathways Common Behavioral.
Ms. Smith’s body was found near the railroad tracks in the area of East 175th Street and South Boardman Road. Sheriff’s deputies investigating the tragedy had ruled out foul play in the death of the single mother. There was no explanation as to why it took so long to report the accident, as well as which train among the average of 27 daily, which include four Amtrak, trains that pass through that rail corridor at top speeds of 70 mph, actually struck the victim.
