SUNSET -- A woman died Saturday afternoon after being struck by a train on tracks in Sunset, the second such fatality in four days.
The woman was killed about 4:40 p.m. Saturday when she was struck a northbound FrontRunner train traveling at 79 mph on 1600 North, said Sunset Police Chief Ken Eborn.
There is no pedestrian crossing where the fatality occurred, and a witness told police the woman was hiding behind a clump of bushes and then ran out in front of the train, Eborn said.
The identity of the woman was not released Saturday night, and police were interviewing family members to determine whether her death was a suicide or an accident.
The FrontRunner, which had just left the Clearfield station and was heading to Ogden, was carrying 60 passengers, Gerry Carpenter, a spokesman for the Utah Transit Authority, said at the scene late Saturday afternoon.
"It's a tragedy for everyone involved, the passengers, the family of the victim and the train operator," he said.
The train's driver, who was not identified, has been placed on administrative leave, will undergo drug testing and will be offered counseling, all of which is standard procedure for UTA, Carpenter said.
UTA buses were used to shuttle FrontRunner passengers between the Clearfield and Ogden stations until police reopened the tracks.
The FrontRunner operator attempted to brake after spotting the woman on the tracks and eventually managed to stop the train near 2230 North, said Carpenter.
The fatality stunned neighbors who live near the tracks.
Patricia Jensen, who lives at 1924 N. 550 West in Clinton, said she heard the FrontRunner stop suddenly behind her house and went outside to investigate.
"I heard the train slam on its brakes," she said. "There was blood on the front of the train."
The death of the woman on the tracks is extremely unusual because it's the second in four days in Sunset, said Eborn.
Wednesday night, 52-year-old Pamela Mae Garn died after being hit by a train near 500 W. 2300 North in Sunset on the railroad track lines owned and used by Union Pacific. Her body was discovered Thursday about 20 feet north of a railroad crossing.
Based on conversations with Garn's mother and boyfriend, it's believed her death was a suicide, Eborn said.
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