Montana Train Hits Woman in Possible Suicide Attempt

A woman was hit and severely injured by a train in Billings this morning in what appears to be an attempted suicide. The woman, whose name has not yet been released, is one of many people injured each year by freight and passenger trains in the United States. According to the Federal Railroad Administration there have been over  10,000 train accidents nationwide  since January 2011 resulting in 644 deaths. The deaths and injuries are tragic, but what often goes unnoticed are the effects of these collisions on the railroad engineers. KGVO News spoke with railroad engineer David King to get a view from the other side of a railroad accident.

If the incident in Billings was a suicide, it certainly wouldn't be the first case. Suicide attempts involving trains result in a ninety percent death rate. Although it's difficult to know how many, The Federal Railroad Administration estimates that there are around 300 to 500 suicide-by-train deaths each year,