Police call death of Santa Rosa woman struck and killed by SMART train a suicide

A woman struck and killed early Wednesday by a SMART train in south Santa Rosa was standing on the railroad tracks when she was hit and had been warned of the train’s approach by its blaring horns, Santa Rosa police said Wednesday afternoon. Police have called the death a suicide.

Authorities identified the woman as Marion Harrison, 64, of Santa Rosa.

The death marks the first reported fatality in connection with operation of the commuter train, which launched service in August.

One witness said it appeared the woman knew the train was approaching and made no effort to get out of the way, even as the train’s horn blasted.

“She didn’t move,” said Ron Kiger, an employee at nearby Mead Clark Lumber. Kiger said he watched, stunned, wondering “is she going to move?”

The southbound train did not have time to stop before striking Harrison, police said.

Kiger said he ran to see if he could help, checking her pulse.

“There was no help to be made. I’ve never seen a body so twisted,” he said.

The first report of the collision came from SMART train dispatchers who contacted emergency dispatchers at 7:36 a.m. to report a collision between the train and a pedestrian at Hearn Avenue.

Officers found the woman about 100 feet south of Hearn Avenue, on the west side of the tracks. She was unresponsive and appeared to have died instantly, police said. No foul play was suspected and an autopsy was pending.

About 40 to 50 passengers were on the train at the time of the incident, said SMART Police Chief Jennifer Welch.

One passenger said the train had stopped and riders weren’t aware of what happened.

“One of the conductors said they’d hit something and they’ve come on the intercom about three times to say they’d had an incident at the road crossing, said the man, who declined to give his name. “They said to stay calm, stay in your seat and they would keep us posted.

“People initially were wondering what was going on, trying to crane out the windows and look,” he said, or lean out the open train doors for a clue of what had happened.

Police said no one on the train was injured.

At 8 a.m. Santa Rosa police issued a public alert for drivers to avoid Hearn Avenue at the railroads tracks. The road was closed a block in each direction from the tracks, and long lines of yellow police tape roped off the area.

Santa Rosa Police Sgt. Summer Black said officers spoke with the engineer driving the train, the conductor and 20 onboard passengers who witnessed the incident. The death was also captured on video.

The woman was facing the train when she was struck, Black said, the video clearly showing it was a suicide.

Welch called the death a tragedy.

“We see this happening at other agencies,” she said. “We’re not immune to having this happen to SMART.

“We were confident in our response. We had the right protocols and producers in place for handling this incident.”

All train crossing controls appeared to be functioning properly at the time of the collision, based on witness accounts, police said.