Fatal train incident Tuesday south of Bellingham believed to be a suicide
The Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office said Tuesday’s fatal BNSF train incident near Teddy Bear Cove south of Bellingham appears to be a suicide.
The person who died was described as a female in her 20s, Chief Deputy Kevin Hester told The Bellingham Herald in an email Wednesday, Jan. 27.
Hester did not release the woman’s name, and The Herald generally does not print the names of those who commit suicide.
Bellingham Fire Department emergency crews, including the Marine 6 fire boat, were first called at 10:01 a.m. Tuesday, Jan. 26, to the area near the intersection of Chuckanut Drive and Spokane Street near Woodstock Farm for an expanded traffic collision, according to the PulsePoint app.
Unconfirmed emergency radio reports at the time said BNSF reported the incident and that it occurred just onto the railroad bridge over Chuckanut Bay, west of Woodstock Farms. Reports said the train was northbound at the time of the incident.
The train was carrying mixed freight, BNSF spokesperson Courtney Wallace told The Herald in an email. She added that the incident did not occur at a crossing. Train traffic was stopped until approximately 2 p.m. while the incident was investigated.
There were 23 train-related fatalities in Washington state in 2020, according to the Washington State Utilities and Transportation Commission, with six occurring at crossings. Included among the 17 trespass fatalities listed was a Sept. 25 incident in Bellingham, when a pedestrian was struck by a BNSF train.
Tuesday’s fatal incident is the 10th involving a train in Whatcom County since 2011, according to the Utilities and Transportation Commission. Only two of those incidents occurred at a crossing.
Resources
Lt. Claudia Murphy of the Bellingham Police Department recommends if people find themselves or a friend in crisis or emotional distress that they call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at any time at 800-273-TALK (8255). For more information about the Lifeline, visit suicidepreventionlifeline.org.
