Woman, 38, dies in Kent when struck by train
Published 10:15 am Thursday, July 23, 2026
A 38-year-old woman was killed in Kent when a Union Pacific Railroad train hit her just south of Willis Street.
Officers were dispatched at about 7:22 p.m. Wednesday, July 22 in regards to a train striking a pedestrian, according to a July 23 Kent Police news release. Officers found the woman, who was pronounced deceased at the scene.
The conductor advised that multiple train horn activations were given when a person was seen on the tracks, but no change in behavior occurred and they were unable to stop, according to police. The train was reported to be traveling at 35 mph.
The Union Pacific Railroad tracks are just west of downtown. The BNSF Railway tracks are just east of downtown.
In the news release, Kent Police recommended that if you or someone you know is experiencing a mental health or behavioral health crisis, call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline 24 hours a day for free, confidential support. If there is an immediate threat to life or a medical emergency, call 911 immediately.
“Help is available, and no one needs to face a crisis alone,” according to the news release.
Death by train
This marks the second death in July of a pedestrian by train and the fourth so far this year in Kent. Two others were killed in separate incidents in February. The three earlier deaths were along the BNSF Railway tracks.
Twenty-nine pedestrians have been killed by trains in the city over the last nine years, according to the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission website. Three were killed in 2025, two in 2024, one in 2023, four in 2022, seven in 2021, three in 2020, four in 2019 and one in 2018.
Kent Police and the King County Medical Examiner’s Office try to determine the cause of deaths, which are often listed as accidents if they are unable to confirm by witnesses or relatives if the incident was a suicide or not. The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) on its website states that nationally hundreds of people lose their lives every year on railroad tracks due to suicide.
