A woman was hospitalized with serious injuries after she was hit by a train in Centralia on Tuesday.
The woman, who has not been identified by local law enforcement, was reportedly lying near the tracks near the East Chestnut Street intersection when a train employee observed her prior to the collision, according to the Centralia Police Department.
Centralia officers responded to the incident at approximately 9:57 p.m. on Sept. 26.
Riverside Fire Authority personnel treated the woman for “obvious head injuries from being struck by the train” before she was transported to a local hospital and then airlifted to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle.
“The Centralia Police Department would like to stress the importance of railroad safety and ensuring pedestrians use proper safety precautions when in the vicinity of railroad tracks,” the department said in a news release Wednesday morning.
Trains cannot come to a sudden stop when they are moving, the Centralia Police Department stated, adding that an average freight train measuring a mile to a mile and a half in length traveling at 55 mph would take over a mile to stop after the engineer applied the emergency brakes.
Pedestrians are advised to only cross the railroad tracks at authorized locations and obey the crossing signals. Walking on the railroad tracks, except at authorized locations, can be considered trespassing and is an arrestable offense, according to the Centralia Police Department.
“For everyone’s safety, pedestrians have to yield the right of way to the trains,” the department said.
