SEATTLE — A woman who died after she was trapped between a light rail train and a platform at the Mount Baker station on Sunday has been identified by the King County Medical Examiner’s Office.
Nicole Stephanie Lyons of Seattle died of multiple blunt force injuries. She was 39.
The cause of death was ruled an accident.
Just before 1:30 p.m. Sunday, a 911 caller reported that a pedestrian had been hit by a light rail train at the station.
Witnesses said Lyons appeared to stumble and fall off the platform before colliding with the moving train, according to the Seattle Police Department.
Firefighters were able to extricate Lyons from between the light rail car and the station platform.
She was evaluated by paramedics before being pronounced dead on the scene.
“We don’t know the circumstances that led up to today’s event, but what we do want people to know is when you are on a light rail station, always make sure that you are following the safety guidelines,” Seattle Fire public information officer Kristin Tinsley said. “Stay far enough back from the platform edge, allow the train to come in safely before you board the train,”
Link shuttle buses replaced the 1 Line between Beacon Hill Station and Columbia City while authorities responded to the scene, but service has since resumed at all stations, according to Sound Transit.
KIRO 7 spoke with one person who said their train was delayed because of this, but she says that once she found out the cause, she realized there were more important things to worry about than a train delay.
“I mean, it was pretty awful, obviously,” said Megan Stein. “I know there have been other instances of delays, you know, people in the tunnel or whatever, but obviously someone being run over is really terrible. So, I wish it had gone differently or there was a different reason.”
Sound Transit tells KIRO 7 it is heartbroken by the tragedy and is encouraging all passengers to always practice caution while taking public transit.
“Oh, this is horrible. It’s a tragedy and it’s something that we could not have foreseen, obviously,” Rachelle Cunningham with Sound Transit said.
Detectives with SPD’s Traffic Collision Investigation Squad responded to the scene to collect and process evidence.
This is an ongoing investigation.
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