3 Deaths Revive Issue of Rail Safety

Three people--one of them an apparent suicide--have been struck and killed by trains since Wednesday on a stretch of North County track, reviving concerns about rail safety sparked by a series of deaths two years ago.

Karina Ellie Murphy, 40, of Leucadia was struck about 4:45 p.m. Wednesday by a southbound Amtrak train while she and her husband were walking the family dog near the tracks at Old Highway 101 near Grandview Street, her sister-in-law said.

Early Thursday about seven miles south in Solana Beach, a Santa Fe railroad work train ran over the body of Barbara Ann Young, 58, who officials believe had been struck by at least one other train during the night.

On Thursday evening, a bicyclist was struck and killed in Carlsbad by a train northbound from San Diego, officials said. The cyclist was killed shortly before 8 p.m., officials said. Few details of the accident were available.

Witnesses told police that the crossing arms had come down when the cyclist attempted to scoot in front of the train. “He or she didn’t make it across,” Carlsbad Police Lt. Joe Hasenauer said. “The body is in pieces.”

County medical examiner’s investigators believe Young committed suicide because she was distraught over her financial situation.