Girl, 14, struck and killed by train in Martinez

Family members, friends and school officials are mourning the loss of a 14-year-old girl who was struck and killed by a train in Martinez when, according to her mother, she tried to retrieve a cell phone she had dropped on the tracks.

Jenna Betti was hit by an eastbound Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway freight train east of Old Orchard Road near Howe Road about 5 p.m. Sunday, authorities said.

Three crew members on board saw two people on the tracks, said railway spokeswoman Lena Kent. "Both individuals got off of the track," she said, "and for some unknown reason, one of the individuals came back on the track."

The girl was an eighth-grader at Martinez Junior High School, where classmates wore pink, her favorite color, in her memory on Monday. One of her two younger sisters attends the school, where flags were at half-staff. Jenna was also an accomplished soccer player.

"She was always laughing. If you would see her at the lunch table, sitting with her friends, she's laughing and smiling," said Principal Jonathan Eagan. "In class, she was a good student, but she also had a smile and was kind of the life of the party, in a very positive way, and she was also a phenomenal athlete."

Rami Muth, Martinez Unified School District superintendent, said that Jenna was a "beautiful, vibrant young lady" and that counselors were on hand Monday to help students.

In a message to friends on Facebook, Jenna's mother, Dena Betti, wrote that Jenna and her boyfriend were sitting on the tracks when the train approached. "Why they made such a horrible decision we'll never know," she wrote.

The two jumped out of the way, but "she dropped her phone and went back to retrieve it," Dena Betti wrote. "She didn't judge the approach, and the train creates a vacuum, we were told, and it sucks you in. We are beyond devastated. Thank you for all your love, support and prayers during this very difficult time."

Jenna Betti was hit by a Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway freight train east of Old Orchard Road near Howe Road about 5 p.m., authorities said. Jenna Betti was hit by a Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railway freight train east of Old Orchard Road near Howe Road about 5 p.m., authorities said. Photo: Google Maps Photo: Google Maps Image 1 of / 7 Caption Close Girl, 14, struck and killed by train in Martinez 1 / 7 Back to Gallery

A friend, 13-year-old Alyssa Bielecki, said Jenna was "very happy. She always smiled. I never saw her down. She made everything better. She always looked at the bright side of stuff. She was always there for everyone."

Jenna was most likely scared about getting in trouble for losing her phone, said Alyssa, who visited the scene where Jenna died.

Her brother, Stephen Bielecki, 20, said, "I can't really put myself in her shoes, but I think she wasn't really thinking, and didn't really think twice, and she just reacted and tried to get her phone as quick as she could."

He said many teenagers were drawn to train tracks to hang out or have conversations, possibly because "you hear stories, books, movies about people walking the train tracks. You see cool pictures of people on train tracks, so they get the idea from the mainstream, from the media.

"For me, myself, I feel like you should just be nowhere near the tracks."