West Jordan • A Utah Transit Authority train running on a West Jordan test line struck and killed a teenage girl Wednesday.
Shariah Casper, 15, of West Jordan was trying to walk south across the tracks with her friend, said Kami Laney, who was sitting in her car on the opposite side of the track. The pair went around the arms and avoided an eastbound train, Laney said, but about five seconds later a westbound train struck Casper.
"One saw it and jumped back," Laney said.
"It breaks my heart, the woman who has to get that news that her daughter was hit by a train," Laney added.
The accident happened about 2:45 p.m. at 3200 West and 8600 South. UTA has been testing the trains on the Mid-Jordan line since May 16, said UTA spokesman Chad Saley, adding that both east and west lines were being tested around the same time.
Residents in the area say they are not used to the new TRAX line and the traffic signal at mid-block of 3200 West. The line is set to open Aug. 7.
Rebecca Payton lives half a block from the tracks, which are in a newly approved "quiet zone" where trains are no longer required to sound horns when they approach intersections. She said notices were sent to families living in the area about the test line, but the new line still isn’t something people are familiar with.
A Union Pacific rail line parallels the UTA line, but trains run on that line only in the early morning hours. Payton said they haven’t gotten used to a train running past the area every 15 minutes.
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Published Feb 22, 2012 03:44:02PM
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"This [train] is blowing past an intersection without a light or a horn," Payton said. "It is just scary. It is a family neighborhood."
Payton said she came out of her house to hear the friend who tried to cross with Casper screaming, "I told her not to go."
Twitter: @CimCity
