Mother crushed by train, saves own 2-year-old

[Dream]

A mother managed to save her 2-year-old girl from an oncoming train in California on Saturday, but at the cost of her own life.

Witnesses say the woman, who police identified as Susan Dibene, was walking with her child in a stroller when the warning lights and guard rails went down near Mary Street and Indiana Avenue around 6:45 p.m., according to KTLA 5 News.

Ignoring the warnings, the 33-year-old attempted to cross the tracks, when the stroller's wheel got stuck, witnesses said.

The mother managed to yank the stroller free and push it away before the Metrolink ran her down.

"She didn't quite make it," Riverside police Sgt. Dan Warren said. "The baby's fine, but she got hit."

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nat...rold_after_stroller_gets_stuck_on_tracks.html

Part of me wants to call her heroic for saving the baby, but another part wants to call her an idiot for pushing a stroller with baby inside onto tracks while a train was coming. What was she thinking?

 

[ShamelessMcBundy]

^^I feel the same way. Good on her for saving the kid, but what the fuck was she doing crossing a train track as a train was coming? As Red Foreman would say, "Dumbass!"

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

A sad story, but hopefully the child can be raised by someone smart now.

 

[Sean Aaron]

Very stupid. One thing that really irritates me are pedestrians in Scotland - especially Glasgow - who will cross in front of cars often with a blase attitude and not even looking at the traffic when a small course deviation would take them to a protected crosswalk or waiting a couple of seconds would mean their path was clear.

Apparently crossing the road a couple of seconds early is more important than life itself for many. I can think of few reasons for dying which are less intelligent than saving a bit of time crossing the road.

In part I expect this is due to pedestrian right of way and a lack of laws against jaywalking. As long as you cross in a straight line there's no law against crossing the road where you please. Just to be clear I'm not advocating a change in the law to criminalise jaywalking; I'd just like to see less stupid/impatient pedestrians.

 

[Captain Ice]

Sean Aaron, if a driver strikes one of them, would your current laws place fault on the pedestrian or the driver?

 

[Robert Maxwell]

What kind of idiot crosses train tracks after the gates come down? Good that her child didn't have to suffer because of her stupidity, but shit. Some people just don't think.

 

[bluedana]

What kind of idiot crosses train tracks after the gates come down? Good that her child didn't have to suffer because of her stupidity, but shit. Some people just don't think.

The child will suffer. She's just lost her mom.

 

[RevDMV]

Dang, used to live in Riverside(parents still do), know that intersection.

Just sad

 

[Robert Maxwell]

What kind of idiot crosses train tracks after the gates come down? Good that her child didn't have to suffer because of her stupidity, but shit. Some people just don't think.

The child will suffer. She's just lost her mom.

If her mother was that stupid, she's probably better off with someone else.

 

[Sean Aaron]

Sean Aaron, if a driver strikes one of them, would your current laws place fault on the pedestrian or the driver?

I'm sure that if someone jumped out in front of a car that would be taken into account, but you don't have a license to run people over if that's the question.

 

[ares93]

What kind of idiot crosses train tracks after the gates come down? Good that her child didn't have to suffer because of her stupidity, but shit. Some people just don't think.

The child will suffer. She's just lost her mom.

If her mother was that stupid, she's probably better off with someone else.

Now that might sound harsh, but he's got a point. Someone who's willing to risk her child like that shouldn't be allowed to take car of a kid.

Now law isn't my specialty, but if the kid had been hit, i think the mother would definitely be good for manslaughter gross negligence. Then again, least of her worries would be the law if she killed her kid.

 

[Ar-Pharazon]

Sean Aaron, if a driver strikes one of them, would your current laws place fault on the pedestrian or the driver?

I'm sure that if someone jumped out in front of a car that would be taken into account, but you don't have a license to run people over if that's the question.

What if you do have a license to run people over, what's the liability then?

 

[Rarewolf]

In part I expect this is due to pedestrian right of way and a lack of laws against jaywalking. As long as you cross in a straight line there's no law against crossing the road where you please. Just to be clear I'm not advocating a change in the law to criminalise jaywalking; I'd just like to see less stupid/impatient pedestrians.

I think were there any change you'd have to have more crossings in place, which would slow the traffic down.

My sister was hit by a car and broke her leg about 22 years ago. It was my mum's fault - my sister was on her left, me on her right, and the car came from the right. I think I was aware of it she wasn't. So she probably did the right instinctive thing in pulling me out the way, but that swung my sister in the way.

But that was a road that we must of crossed daily, it was three minutes from our house.

 

[Sean Aaron]

I think were there any change you'd have to have more crossings in place, which would slow the traffic down.

I London I would agree, but then you probably need more anyway. I found that place scary as a pedestrian. Glasgow has plenty of protected crossings however; people are just too bloody lazy to use them in a lot of cases.

 

[Gov Kodos]

How much time is there between the warning and the train? Couldn't she have just picked the kid up out of the stroller and walked away, instead of struggling to save the stroller? Sad story.

 

[ShamelessMcBundy]

The thing is, the gate was already down. WHAT was she doing crossing the tracks after that? Granted, i once got stuck waiting for a train to cross for more than 10 minutes, because the train stopped, for whatever reason. Now, my life isn't worth risking to save a few minutes of travel time. I have all the sympathy i can for that child, and i am glad that the child is ok. I have no sympathy for the mother though. Bone-headed move.

 

[Nerys Ghemor]

One of my co-workers had a friend they care very much for do something very stupid around a train, and my co-worker's kid actually saw it happen.

It's easy to laugh and say "Darwin Award" until you actually see firsthand the effect that it has on the family and friends. Believe me, I could see the hurt and the horror on my co-worker's face. You don't forget that, no matter how it happened.

That's the point bluedana made: there is a personal tragedy in this no matter what.

 

[spooky spice]

No matter how "stupid" people think this woman's actions were, this is an awful awful thing to have happen to anyone...

I can only hope the child is adopted far away from the place and has her identity changed, imagine knowing how your mother died, and know that people considered her to be a complete idiot?

Sean Aaron, if a driver strikes one of them, would your current laws place fault on the pedestrian or the driver?

IIRC the law is [or was] if the pedestrian was on a proper crossing then the driver was liable, but if the pedestrian just crossed the road anywhere, then they were liable.

Supposedly you the driver are meant to be 100% aware that there are pedestrian crossings and that people will walk in front of you. Or something.

 

[Sean Aaron]

This might also be helpful, specifically from section 8:

When crossing the road, look out for traffic turning into the road, especially from behind you. If you have started crossing and traffic wants to turn into the road, you have priority and they should give way

 

[ed629]

In part I expect this is due to pedestrian right of way and a lack of laws against jaywalking. As long as you cross in a straight line there's no law against crossing the road where you please. Just to be clear I'm not advocating a change in the law to criminalise jaywalking; I'd just like to see less stupid/impatient pedestrians.

I think were there any change you'd have to have more crossings in place, which would slow the traffic down.

My sister was hit by a car and broke her leg about 22 years ago. It was my mum's fault - my sister was on her left, me on her right, and the car came from the right. I think I was aware of it she wasn't. So she probably did the right instinctive thing in pulling me out the way, but that swung my sister in the way.

But that was a road that we must of crossed daily, it was three minutes from our house.

Sooo.... you're the favorite?