4-year-old girl dead, sister and mother hospitalized after hit by train in Michigan
By Karma Sabbah, Heath Kalb
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ECORSE, Michigan (WWJ) — A 4-year-old girl has died, and her 10-year-old sister and their 32-year-old mother are hospitalized after they were hit by a train in Ecorse, Michigan, over the weekend.
The incident happened at about 6:30 p.m. on Sunday at Salliotte Road near Ecorse High School. The Ecorse Fire Department says that all three were rushed to the hospital with critical, life-threatening injuries, before one of the daughters later died.
CBS News Detroit has reached out to Transtar, the company that owns the railroad, for a statement and has not yet received a response.
Residents in the area tell CBS News Detroit that this has been a dangerous walk for as long as they can remember, because as soon as you walk over a stopped train, you might not see another coming on the next track.
“Why would a train have to be stopped on the tracks for like at least 2-3 hours a day? It shouldn’t be like that,” said William Wilson.
Wilson says he walks over those same train tracks at least once or twice every day with his son, even if the train is parked right over Salliotte Road, because he says if he had to walk all the way around to the other side of the tracks, it would be too long.
One resident, who manages a home right next to the tracks, says these crossings are a popular daily occurrence. And every single time, she’s nervous.
“Very dangerous, yeah, because other trains go by and other people can’t see the other train going by,” said that resident who asked to remain anonymous. “Numerous people hop in the train every day because it’s stopped there. High school kids, parents putting their kids through the train so they can hop the train.”
CBS News Detroit reached out to Ecorse Mayor Lamar Tidwell, who said, “The city of Ecorse or any other city in the United States does not control any railroad crossing. This said, I- am having a meeting with the railroad people very soon regarding this issue.”
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