The death of a 58-year-old Valparaiso woman who was struck by a train on
Monday has been ruled a suicide, Porter County Coroner Chuck Harris said.
The incident occurred around 8:27 p.m. in the area of Silhavy Road and Grand
Trunk Road, where the woman entered the railroad right-of-way carrying a
sign which read “Ride Plese,” Harris told the Chesterton Tribune
today.
As the train approached--traveling at between 27 and 30 miles per hour--the
woman walked in front of it, and “there was no chance for something that big
to stop in time,” Harris said.
The woman was pronounced dead at the scene of multiple blunt force trauma.
No autopsy will be conducted although the results of a routine toxicology
screen are pending, Harris said.
Articles of the woman’s clothing were found “neatly folded away from the
scene,” Harris said, and the totality of the circumstances indicates
suicide.
There was no photo identification found in her possession but some items
with her name printed on them were found in her pockets, and a positive
identification was made after her caregiver was shown a photograph of her
face, Harris added.