Police officers and other emergency personnel were greeted with the grisly aftermath of a woman’s death on a stretch of railroad tracks in Turlock Tuesday morning. The Turlock Police Department is investigating the death as an apparent suicide.
The woman’s name and age are unknown. She had no identification on her. The department is hoping her fingerprints will reveal her identity, said police spokesman Sgt. Nino Amirfar.
The police dispatch received two 911 calls just after 9:30 a.m. Tuesday stating a woman had been hit by a train along Golden State Boulevard, just beyond the Fulkerth Road intersection.
The callers — the train engineer and a witness to the tragedy, said the woman ran out onto the railroad and laid down on the tracks in the path of the oncoming southbound Union Pacific train. Amirfar said it was just a matter of seconds before she was hit.
Investigators suspect the woman may have been homeless or a transient, based on the condition of her clothing, Amirfar said. No possessions were found with her and no vehicle was located.
The Union Pacific train was pulling five freight cars and came to a stop about a quarter of a mile past the scene, Amirfar said.
Mark Davis, a company spokesperson for Union Pacific, said the train does a local route traveling between Stockton and Delhi daily. When trains pass through cities they typically are going about 10 mph to 35 mph.
Davis said in these kind of incidences, the railroad company offers peer support counseling to their employees.
“Our hearts go out to the family and the friends of the person struck, as well as our employees that had to witness such a horrific event,” Davis said.
To contact Sabra Stafford, e-mail sstafford@turlockjournal.com or call 634-9141 ext. 2002.
The woman’s name and age are unknown. She had no identification on her. The department is hoping her fingerprints will reveal her identity, said police spokesman Sgt. Nino Amirfar.
The police dispatch received two 911 calls just after 9:30 a.m. Tuesday stating a woman had been hit by a train along Golden State Boulevard, just beyond the Fulkerth Road intersection.
The callers — the train engineer and a witness to the tragedy, said the woman ran out onto the railroad and laid down on the tracks in the path of the oncoming southbound Union Pacific train. Amirfar said it was just a matter of seconds before she was hit.
Investigators suspect the woman may have been homeless or a transient, based on the condition of her clothing, Amirfar said. No possessions were found with her and no vehicle was located.
The Union Pacific train was pulling five freight cars and came to a stop about a quarter of a mile past the scene, Amirfar said.
Mark Davis, a company spokesperson for Union Pacific, said the train does a local route traveling between Stockton and Delhi daily. When trains pass through cities they typically are going about 10 mph to 35 mph.
Davis said in these kind of incidences, the railroad company offers peer support counseling to their employees.
“Our hearts go out to the family and the friends of the person struck, as well as our employees that had to witness such a horrific event,” Davis said.
To contact Sabra Stafford, e-mail sstafford@turlockjournal.com or call 634-9141 ext. 2002.
