The woman who was struck and killed by a train on Tuesday along the CSX tracks near the 5000 block of U.S. Highway 20 in Portage has been identified.

Linda Evola, 43, of Portage, was killed instantly, Porter County Coroner Vicki Deppe told the Chesterton Tribune today.

Evola was carrying no ID on her person when she was struck, Deppe said, and the Portage Police Department did “an outstanding job” in identifying her.

The circumstances behind Evola’s death remain under investigation, Deppe said. This much is known, however. At around 10:03 p.m. Evola was walking, in an undetermined direction, on the CSX tracks just behind Don’s Motel at 5550 U.S. 20. The engineer blew the train’s whistle multiple times but Evola did not apparently respond and the train struck her, Deppe said.

“Right now it appears to be accidental from everything I see,” Deppe noted, but added that her investigation is not complete and that she has more interviews to conduct.

The results of a routine toxicology screen are pending.

Posted 9/4/2008