Woman Killed by Train Day Before 29th Birthday

A woman was killed the day before her 29th birthday when she jumped onto the train tracks yesterday at a station in Greenwich, Connecticut, to retrieve her dropped purse and was hit by an oncoming train, CTPost reports. Authorities identified the victim as Tamar Louis. Based on accounts of the incident, Louis was sitting on the platform dangling her legs over the edge when she dropped her bag and climbed down to get it. A spokesperson for the rail line believes Louis may have dropped her bag when she was startled by the train's horn, which the Daily Voice reports trains will sound if they aren't stopping at a station. Authorities estimate the train was traveling 45mph.

Louis' death is still being investigated. A former chairman of the rail line tells CTPost that people should treat dropping belongings onto train tracks the same way they would dropping them onto the freeway. “You wouldn’t just pull over and run back out to try to retrieve it amongst the traffic,” he says. This is at least the third train-related death in Fairfield County this year, according to the Daily Voice. And, CTPost reports more than 430 people are hit by trains and killed every year. (More train accident stories.)