The Metrolink board is working to close the Doran Street railroad crossing, which he said would be fenced off.
The woman was pushing a shopping cart and walked across the tracks about 11:30 a.m. Monday as the passenger train approached her, witnesses said. The engineer blew the horn several times, but the woman didn’t move.
She stumbled on the tracks and was hit by the train.
The woman’s identity has been withheld until her family is notified, said Ed Winter, assistant chief coroner for Los Angeles County. Coroners haven’t determined whether the woman was homeless, he said.
The accident could not have been prevented, Glendale Police Sgt. Tom Lorenz said.
“It think it’s apparent in this particular case the pedestrian was not aware of her surroundings, even though all the equipment was working properly,” he said.
A state-of-the-art quad gate also wouldn’t have prevented the accident, Najarian said.
Most of Glendale’s railroad crossings are equipped with state-of-the-art equipment, except for Broadway and Doran Street, which he said is the worst.
“We wanted very much to get rid of [the crossing], but the problem is that we are getting some push-back from Tom LaBonge in the city of [Los Angeles] that does not want to stop the access at that point,” Najarian said.
Los Angeles Councilman Tom LaBonge said he wants to work closely with Glendale to resolve issues in the southern portion of the San Fernando corridor.
“It’s tragic that anyone is hit by a train,” he said.
“Tragic for the person, their family, tragic for the operator of the train, tragic for anybody that witnessed it.”
Officials have a plan to eliminate the Doran Street railroad crossing, but that’s still in the works, LaBonge said.
