The Kent Police Department is reporting that a woman was struck and killed by a train in downtown Kent Saturday night, July 7.
Police say that he incident occurred at 7:20 p.m. Saturday at the James Street railroad crossing downtown (map below).
A Burlington Northern train was traveling south on the Burlington Northern right of way. Witnesses reported seeing a 55-year old female walk across the tracks near James Street, appear to fall on the tracks, then attempted to get back up. The train then entered the crossing and the fatal incident occurred.
The first police and fire responders were on location within minutes of the incident. They located the female victim, who did not survive the incident.
The Kent Police Department is working to determine how the sequence of events led up to such a tragic event.
As with other rail crossings through the downtown Kent area, the James Street crossing is equipped with large, light-reflective gates, as well as red flashing signals and audible bells.
“As a reminder, once the warning lights start flashing, vehicles and pedestrians are required to stop at the marked stop lines and clear the tracks,” police said. “Movement across the tracks after the warning signals are activated is prohibited and dangerous. It is extremely important that motorists and pedestrians not take rail crossing safety for granted, incidents involving a train can have dire consequences.”
James Street and Smith Street are currently closed at Railroad Ave/1st Ave due to a collision. A freight train will be blocking the tracks for approximately an hour. You can cross over at GOWE Street and streets south of there.
— Kent Police (@kentpd) July 8, 2018
