Woman dies when struck by train while walking across tracks in downtown Modesto
A pedestrian crossing the Union Pacific Railroad tracks in downtown Modesto on Saturday morning was struck and killed by a train, authorities said.
The incident happened about 9:30 a.m., Police Department spokeswoman Sharon Bear said. The woman was crossing about 40 feet north of the intersection of Seventh and B streets when she apparently failed to notice the oncoming train. It has not been determined if something distracted the woman, Bear said.
Lifesaving measures were taken, she said, but the woman was pronounced dead at the scene.
Northbound Seventh Street was reopened to traffic shortly before 11 a.m.
According to Federal Railroad Administration statistics, 2,216 highway-rail grade crossing collisions occurred in 2019, the website of Operation Lifesaver reports. In California for that year, there were 172 collisions, resulting in 48 deaths and 64 injuries.
