FRESNO, Calif. (AP) – Police in central California say a woman has been arrested on felony child neglect charges after her 8-year-old daughter was killed as she crawled under a train in downtown Fresno.
Fresno Police Chief Jerry Dyer says 44-year-old Joy Collins urged the girl and her 9-year-old brother to crawl under the idling train so the family wouldn’t miss a bus home.
Dyer said Tuesday the boy made it but the girl was reluctant to get under the Burlington Northern Santa Fe freight train. When she did, the train lurched and trapped her under its wheels, dragging and killing her as Collins ran behind in desperation.
Dyer says detectives determined that Collins was negligent, based on witness statements, the darkness of the area at the time, and the reluctance of the girl to follow her mother’s orders.
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Information from: The Fresno Bee, http://www.fresnobee.com
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