New details revealed in death of Pierce County woman killed by a train in Steilacoom

A Fircrest woman who was killed while walking on the railroad tracks in Steilacoom was reportedly watching a train pass by before she was struck.

Based off evidence and eyewitness accounts, Tracy Taubman, 57, was watching a train pass Monday afternoon while she stood on an adjacent set of tracks. She was struck by a train traveling the opposite direction near the Sunnyside Beach Park, Tom Yabe, chief of police of Steilacoom Department of Public Safety told The News Tribune in an email.

Taubman died from multiple blunt-force injuries near Chambers Creek Road West. Her manner of death was listed as an accident, according to the Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office .

“The pedestrian crossing at Sunnyside Beach is one of only two pedestrian track crossings within the Town of Steilacoom, with the other crossing located at the Pierce County ferry dock and typically only utilized by those boarding and departing the ferry,” Yabe wrote.

He said Taubman’s death appears to be the second fatal crash in the near vicinity of the Sunnyside crossing within the past decade.

“Over 15 years ago, the Town of Steilacoom installed wayside horns at the Sunnyside Beach pedestrian crossing, which helped in focusing audible warning directly toward the pedestrian crossing, rather than relying solely upon the train operator’s audible warning signal,” Yabe wrote.

Officers are frequently on the lookout for unauthorized pedestrians upon the train tracks throughout town and respond to calls to 911 from concerned community members, he said.

“We continue to educate our residents and guests about the ever-present dangers of walking upon train tracks,” Yabe wrote.