Woman’s death on SMART tracks in Rohnert Park raises alarm over increasingly deadly crossing

The woman who was fatally struck by a SMART train late Thursday night in what police suspect was a suicide was identified Friday as concerns mount about recurring deaths at the Rohnert Park rail crossing.

Jennifer Danielle Price, 41, of Rohnert Park, died just before 9:30 p.m. at the road-level crossing on Golf Course Drive near Commerce Boulevard after she stepped in the path of the northbound train while holding her two small dogs, according to the Sonoma County Coroner’s Office. She and her pets died at the scene, authorities said.

Her death marks the 10th pedestrian fatality in just over two years of operations for the Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit system. Five of those deaths have occurred at or near the Golf Course Drive crossing over the past 13 months, posing unanswered questions among SMART and city officials about why the location has become the deadliest spot along the current 43-mile rail line, extending from Santa Rosa’s northern outskirts to San Rafael.

The first death at the site occurred in August 2018 and the last before Thursday was on July 15, when a man on foot was hit by an incoming train along Redwood Drive north of the Golf Course Drive crossing.

Two of those deaths, including Price’s, are thought by authorities to have been suicides, while three were determined to be accidents in which the victims did not appear to be aware of the oncoming trains.

The latest fatality has sharpened concerns among public officials over whether more needs to be done to shore up public safety at the Rohnert Park crossing and along the rail line.

“Is it indicative of the intersection or the lack of mental health providers in Sonoma County to help people who have or are experiencing mental health trauma? That’s what I’m wondering,” said Rohnert Park Mayor Gina Belforte. “Is there something we can do, other than undergrounding the train, and I don’t know.”

In July, Rohnert Park staff met with SMART officials to address ways to improve safety after three deaths over less than three weeks at the Golf Course Drive crossing. The train typically travels at more than 65 mph through the busy intersection adjacent to Highway 101 on- and offramps. The regular presence of pedestrians and bicyclists led SMART to prioritize the location for safety enhancements, installing pedestrian fences on the sidewalk to slow people and grab their attention as they cross the tracks.

However, SMART staff snubbed the Rohnert Park City Council in July when they left city offices before a scheduled discussion at the council meeting, causing friction between the two entities that has yet to be fully resolved. Belforte and two other council members said Friday an open invite remains on the table for a discussion to publicly examine the intersection — a step several members of the SMART board also supported Friday.

“I would always encourage SMART staff to meet with elected officials,” said Sonoma County Supervisor Shirlee Zane, a SMART board member whose district encompasses the Golf Course Drive crossing area. “I absolutely think they should come and speak with the City Council.”

Despite repeated requests, neither SMART General Manager Farhad Mansourian nor Police Chief Jennifer McGill made themselves available for an interview Friday to answer questions about the speed of trains moving through Rohnert Park, the rising death toll on the tracks and the implications for the rail system.