Woman thanks rescuer who saved her from oncoming TRAX train


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MURRAY — A Murray woman says she’s grateful for the help she received from a stranger after she got stuck on train tracks and a train was quickly approaching.

The two met for the first time Thursday since the incident last week.

“I need to get your name. I want your last name, I want your address, I want your phone number,” were the first words Janice Parkinson said to Suzanne Slifka when she saw her and gave her a hug.

“You’re so sweet,” Slifka said. “I’m just so happy you’re OK.”

“I’m fine, but you know it didn’t hit me until the next day,” Parkinson said. “Physically I’m fine, mentally that was hard.”

The two experienced a terrifying moment together on Nov. 13, around 7:30 p.m. Parkinson was driving west on 5900 South near 300 West. She was crossing the railroad tracks when the warning lights and bells went off.

“No sooner had I got on the tracks, than this red light (warning lights) started,” Parkinson said. “I froze. I mean, I panicked.”

She said she thought her car had stalled.

Janice Parkinson's car sits at the railroad crossing at 5900 South and 300 West in Murray after being hit by a TRAX train Thursday, Nov. 12, 2014. (Photo: Suzanne Slifka)
Janice Parkinson's car sits at the railroad crossing at 5900 South and 300 West in Murray after being hit by a TRAX train Thursday, Nov. 12, 2014. (Photo: Suzanne Slifka)

“I jumped out because it wouldn’t start. I tried to push it (out of the way), but I couldn’t because I had put it in park,” Parkinson said.

Slifka, of South Salt Lake, was on the other side of the tracks and saw what was happening.

“There was a moment where I’m like, ‘She’ll be OK,’ and then I see you get out, and I’m like, ‘No, I’m going to go help her. And then as I’m getting out, (the crossing arms) started coming down and I was just terrified for you.”

She remembers grabbing Parkinson and pulling her out of the way. They had just gotten off the tracks when the train hit the car.

“We made it just across the other side and then that’s when it hit, and it kind of pushed it along, wrapped it around another pole, kind of just destroyed the whole thing,” Slifka said.

Parkinson said there was a real loud explosion, like a gunshot, right next to her ear.

Slifka couldn’t believe what had just happened.

“We were both standing there, and it felt like a shower of glass, and you're just standing there with your mouth open, like, 'What did I just see?'” Slifka said.

“If you hadn’t come, that train would have hit me for sure,” Parkinson said.

The car was destroyed.

If a vehicle stalls on the tracks, Utah Transit Authority officials UTA say drivers and passengers should get out of the vehicle, step away and call 911. Dispatchers will then radio the train operator.

The trains in the area are traveling about 50 mph, and it takes about 600 feet for them to come to a full stop.

“I was worried about getting that stupid car off the tracks, but you can replace a car, but not a person. She’s my hero,” Parkinson said while hugging Slifka again.

Contributing: Devon Dolan

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