Woman struck by CN train returned to tracks to grab her bag, police say
A woman struck by a train in Moncton on Tuesday night had been pulled to safety but ran back to the tracks to get her bag, police say.
Sgt. Stefan Pare-Lemire with the Codiac RCMP, said a man and a woman were both on the tracks as the train approached at aboImages/Mediaut 7 p.m.
"The male saw the train coming, he pulled her away," said Pare-Lemire. "She went back to get her bag and she got hit."
The woman was still in hospital Wednesday with non-life-threatening injuries.
Burning small fire by the tracks
Dennis Dollemont, platoon chief with the Moncton Fire Department, said the woman's head and shoulder were both struck by the train.
Dollemont said it appears the man and woman were cooking by the train tracks earlier in the day. Firefighters had visited them to put out a small fire at the side of the tracks.
"She was struck in the same area that the firefighters had found them earlier," he said.
Dollemont said tents were set up in the area last year, but that hasn't been the case this summer.
Police conducted an investigation but determined there was no foul play or criminality involved.
But Pare-Lemire said people shouldn't be walking or driving on the train tracks.
CN said in a statement the woman was struck near the Church Street crossing. The train stopped for about an hour, blocking five major Moncton intersections, while first responders were at the scene.
Dean Campbell, a spokesperson for the Transportation Safety Board of Canada, said the two people were not at a crossing at the time of the crash.
He said the board is gathering information but won't send investigators.
On Tuesday, CN said the circumstances surrounding the incident are under investigation.
