TRAX accident kills teen girl in West Jordan

WEST JORDAN — A teenage girl died Wednesday after she was struck by a TRAX train near the intersection of 3200 West and 8600 South.

The girl was identified as Shariah Casper, 15, of West Jordan. According to witnesses at the scene, Casper and another girl crossed under the traffic safety arms and warning lights and attempted to cross the tracks.

The girls apparently did not realize that two trains were traveling in the area within seconds of each other, going in opposite directions. After the first train had passed, the two girls began crossing the tracks unaware of the second train. The second girl stepped off the tracks in time to avoid the second train. Shariah, however, was hit.

"They thought the one going east was the only one and she got hit," said witness Kami Laney.

"She was outgoing. She's fun. She'd do anything for you at any given moment," Kira Sanchez said of her friend Shariah. "She didn't care what people thought of her."

Shariah had just completed the ninth grade.

UTA spokesman Gerry Carpenter said the incident is under investigation but according to preliminary reports, the train and security equipment were functioning properly. Carpenter said trains in that corridor travel up to 65 mph and can sometimes appear farther away than they actually are.

"Once those gates come down there really isn't time to cross," Carpenter said.

Drew Sanders, an officer with the West Valley Police Department said the girl's family had been notified and while the incident is still under investigation there does not appear to have been any problem with the UTA machinery.

"All indications are that yes, everything was operating properly," Sanders said.

The train was a test train on the new mid-Jordan TRAX line, Carpenter said. The line is scheduled to officially open on Aug. 7.

email: benwood@desnews.com

Video Courtesy of KSL.com